Columbus Day! (aka Indigenous Peoples' Day)

Today is - or was - Columbus Day, which to me always meant a welcome day off from school back when I was attending Fort Dearborn Grammar School in the South Side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago. I revisited that school for the first time in 44 years back in 2010, which is when I took the photograph of it on the left, evidently still going strong. These days, Columbus Day is still a federal holiday, but in Chicago, it is now called Indigenous Peoples' Day, although students still get the day off. Frankly, back when I was going to Fort Dearborn, I wouldn't have cared what it was called as long as I got the day off. As you can tell, I was never crazy about school, which is probably why I never went back to visit Fort Dearborn for 44 years. 

Here in Colorado, Columbus Day is no longer a state holiday, and students do not get the day off. Columbus Day was replaced by Frances Xavier Cabrini Day on the first Monday of October, but students don't get that off, either. If I were a student in Denver Public Schools, that would make me very mad indeed. Columbus Day has always been very controversial here in Denver. In the year 2000, the Columbus Day Parade was restarted by an Italian American society after being discontinued in 1992, and each year Native American groups, up to 600 to 700 in number, would protest the parade, blocking the parade route and facing off with Denver police, resulting in many arrests. It was an annual free-for-all for many years, but eventually the parade was reduced to just a few floats, and eventually just faded away. Perhaps it is now time for an Italian American - Indigenous Peoples Friendship Day here in Colorado that will once again be a school holiday. Colorado's youth will thank you for it, governor. And yes, I also took the photograph on the right back in 2010, showing the one thing that was different from when I attended Fort Dearborn - a sign at the main entrance. Progress at last!