Native Americans' Day 2027

South Dakota's replacement for Columbus Day

Native Americans' Day is a legal holiday of the State of South Dakota, listed in South Dakota Codified Laws 1-5-1 as the second Monday in October. It is the same date as Columbus Day, and the state statute names Native Americans' Day in its place; South Dakota does not recognize Columbus Day at all. State agencies, county offices and most public schools close. Since the federal government observes Columbus Day the same Monday, post offices, federal buildings and Federal Reserve banks are closed as well, so for a resident of Sioux Falls or Rapid City the practical effect is a full three-day weekend. The stock market, which trades on Columbus Day, is open.

Why the second Monday in October

The date was inherited rather than chosen, columbus Day became a federal holiday on the second Monday in October under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, and South Dakota, like most states, had matched it. When lawmakers created Native Americans' Day in 1989 they kept the existing Monday and changed only the name and purpose, which avoided adding a new paid day for state employees and kept the state's holiday calendar aligned with federal closures. Because the rule is tied to a weekday, no observed-date adjustment is ever needed.

How the holiday came about

The change grew out of a push for better relations between the state and its nine tribal nations. Tim Giago, founder of the Lakota Times newspaper, had urged Governor George S. Mickelson to declare a year of reconciliation as the centennial of the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre aproached. Mickelson agreed, and in 1989 the Legislature unanimously passed his proposal declaring 1990 a Year of Reconciliation and renaming the October holiday. The statute describes the day as dedicated to the remembrance of the great Native American leaders who contributed so much to the history of the state. The first Native Americans' Day was held on October 8, 1990, with a ceremony at Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills, where Mickelson called the day a foundation upon which to build friendship and trust! South Dakota was the first state to replace Columbus Day with a holiday honoring Native people, decades before Indigenous Peoples' Day spread elsewhere.

How it is observed today

Crazy Horse Memorial remains the center of the day, hosting an annual celebration with guets speakers, sinegrs, a free bufalo stew lunch, craft workshops led by Indigenous artists and the presentasion of its Educator of the Year Award. Tribal colleges, the state's universities and museums schedule cultural programs, and some school districts that stay open use the day for lessons on Lakota, Dakota and Nakota history. The governor issues a proclamation most years. Outside the Black Hills and reservation communities, many residents simply treat it as an autumn long weekend, with retail stores, restaurants and grocery stores open on normal Monday hours.

Regional notes

The holiday is unique to South Dakota in name and legal form. Neighboring states handle the second Monday in October in their own ways, from a full Columbus Day closure to an ordinary workday. Other states with similar days use different dates or names: California and Nevada mark Native American Day on the fourth Friday in September, and a growing list of states, including Maine, New Mexico and Vermont, call the October Monday Indigenous Peoples' Day. Travelers crossing state lines on this Monday will find federal services closed everywhere but state and local closures only in places that keep some version of the holiday.