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This year marks the first time a U.S. president has officially recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day.

President Biden issued a proclamation on Friday, Oct 8th, 2021 to observe this Oct. 11 as a day to honor Native Americans, their resilience and their contributions to American society throughout history, even as they faced assimilation, discrimination and genocide spanning generations. The move shifts focus from Columbus Day, the federal holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus, which shares the same date as Indigenous Peoples' Day this year.

​What is Indigenous Peoples' Day?

​Indigenous Peoples' Day advocates say the recognition helps correct a "whitewashed" American history that has glorified Europeans like Italian explorer Christopher Columbus who have committed violence against Indigenous communities. Native Americans have long criticized the inaccuracies and harmful narratives of Columbus' legacy that credited him with his "discovery" of the Americas when Indigenous people were there first.

​What do we know?

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Many scientists believe that the first people arrived in North America during the last Ice Age. At the start of the Ice Age, Earth’s climate became intensely cold. Large amounts of water froze into huge, moving sheets of ice called glaciers. As a result, ocean levels dropped more than 300 feet lower than they are today.

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When the sea level fell, a land bridge between northeastern Asia and present-day Alaska was exposed. Geographers call this strip of land the Bering Land Bridge. Although no one knows exactly when or how people crossed into North America, evidence suggests that people called Paleo-Indians crossed this bridge into Alaska between 38,000 and 10,000 BC.

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