BRIDGEPORT — Columbus Day has been renamed in Connecticut’s biggest city as Indigenous Peoples Day.
The Bridgeport school board voted on Tuesday evening to change the name of the holiday. Many cities around the country made have the same change to celebrate the history and contributions of indigenous cultures.
The Connecticut Post reports students and staff will still have the day off from school but the day will no longer the famed Italian explorer.
Board member Kate Rivera said she proposed the change to recognize the Native American people who were in the Americas before Columbus arrived in 1492.
As the U.S. observed Columbus Day on Monday, it was also Indigenous Peoples Day the first time in cities including Albuquerque; Portland, Oregon; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Olympia, Washington.
