Phoenix — For the past seven years, the city of Phoenix has recognized the second Monday of each month in October as Indigenous Peoples Day in place of Columbus Day, although it was not an official city holiday.

But now things have changed. By a 7-to-1 vote, the Phoenix City Council made it official and designated Indigenous Peoples Day as a city holiday.

“This is really exciting,” Democratic Rep. Laura Pastor of the 4th Ward told the city council on April 19.

Declaring the resolution, the pastor said he is working with indigenous communities to introduce resolutions with land grants that recognize the city’s location on the ancestral homeland of the indigenous peoples.

On April 19, the Phoenix City Council approved a resolution declaring the second Monday of October each year as a city holiday known as Indigenous Peoples Day.

“This is an exciting item that has been in the making for years,” Phoenix Mayor Katie Gallego told city council. She said Indigenous Peoples Day was originally recognized only as a day, but the vote has made it a full city holiday.

“Phoenix is ​​proud to recognize the roots in which our city was founded,” Gallego tweeted after the resolution was passed.

The only city council member to question the resolution was Second District Republican Rep. Jim Waring.

Waring expressed concern about the cost of the city’s holidays, questioning just how much it would cost the city to institute additional holidays.

Assistant city manager Lori Bayes answered his question, saying the additional city holidays would cost the city about $1.5 million from the general fund and about $2 million from the total fund.

Waring questioned whether the city had plans to remove the additional holidays, as replacing one holiday with another would be income neutral.

Bayes said other cities’ holidays won’t be taken away. If so, that decision would be made by the Phoenix City Council in the future, because the resolution was to add Indigenous Peoples Day as a holiday without removing other holidays.

Waring said that by declaring Indigenous Peoples Day a city holiday, the city is asking taxpayers not to open the city another day and pay $2 million for the privilege. rice field.

The resolution passed 7-1, with Waring being the only person to vote against it.

This means that Phoenix City Hall will be closed and full-time city employees will be put on paid leave. This day is in addition to 12 other city holidays.

Arizona does not recognize Indigenous Peoples Day as an official holiday. In the past, state officials have submitted resolutions to officially recognize the day throughout Arizona, but they have never passed Congress.

When Laura Medina heard that the city of Phoenix would officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day as a city holiday, she praised the decision, calling it “amazing, wonderful.”

“It’s great that these movements continue,” Medina said.

Medina is the organizer of the non-profit organization ‘Matriarch Ways’, originally called the Arizona Indigenous Peoples. The group has hosted Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations since 2015.

But Medina wondered if a city vacation could be about more than just performing. Ms Medina said she couldn’t help but ask if this would really do away with Columbus Day.

“Does that really abolish the idea of ​​what this individual represents?” Medina said, not only to the colonizers, but to America’s history and to the indigenous peoples hurt by colonization. I also asked.

“We know there is a lot of work to be done,” Medina said, noting that declarations and approvals of this kind are always done with the best intentions for indigenous communities.

She hopes the city of Phoenix’s move to make Indigenous Peoples Day an official city holiday will spread, giving people a holiday to think about the land they live in. .

Instead of treating the day like just a holiday, Medina said, it was an opportunity for people to connect and acknowledge the Indigenous communities within their communities and understand that they live on stolen land. I hope that it will be used as

“Let’s pay homage to the original people who call this place home,” Medina said, adding that the best way to do that is to get involved in the community.

She hopes people will take the time to understand the struggles Indigenous communities are actively facing, from the militarization of borders to the complete disrespect and destruction of their sacred sites.

Matriarch Ways hosts an annual Indigenous Peoples Day celebration each October, as well as other workshops and events aimed at Indigenous communities. For more information on their work, please visit their website.