Roxanne Murphy. Photo from Facebook

The city of Bellingham, Washington, could be the next to eliminate Columbus Day.

Roxanne Murphy, a member of the Nooksack Tribe who serves on the city council, came up with the idea. She will ask her colleagues to rename the second Monday of October as Coast Salish Day in honor of the first inhabitants of the region.

"I remember being really confused, as I’m sure other Native Americans are, to celebrate Christopher Columbus when my tribe predated him,” Murphy told The Bellingham Herald.

Elsewhere in Washington, the city council in Seattle is expected to approve a resolution to rename Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The vote is scheduled for this coming Monday.

Other cities, including Minneapolis, Minnesota, have taken similar steps. South Dakota has been observing Native American Day since 1990.

Get the Story:
Bellingham to consider celebrating Coast Salish Day instead of Columbus Day (The Belingham Herald 10/1)

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City leaders in Seattle postpone vote on Indigenous Peoples' Day (9/3)