Americans will celebrate Columbus Day tomorrow, Monday, October 12, but how they celebrate it depends solely on where they live.
The extent of their commitment depends on whether they receive a paid day off, celebrate indigenous peoples or other commemorations, or simply continue their normal work day.
The differing approaches between the states come as Donald Trump has renewed his defense of Christopher Columbus and pledged to protect his legacy.
Trump hosted a Columbus Day celebration at the White House on Friday, ahead of the federal holiday.
The administration had previously issued its Columbus Day 2026 proclamation on Oct. 7, saying Americans should “honor his life of bravery, adventure and ingenuity” and “commit to safeguarding his history.” The proclamation made clear that the administration “would never allow its legacy to be erased by radical extremists.”
Earlier this year, a replica of a Columbus statue originally built by Ronald Reagan and which had stood in Baltimore since 1984 was installed on the White House grounds after “rioters tore it down and threw it into Baltimore Harbor on July 4, 2020.”
Why it matters
Columbus Day is a federal holiday, but its celebration at the state level is far from uniform.
A Pew Research Center analysis found that 30 states recognize Columbus Day in some form, while only 20 make it a paid holiday for state government employees.
Other states have either replaced it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, recognize both occasions, or do not make it a public holiday and treat it as a normal day.
These differences reflect the long-standing debate surrounding Columbus’ legacy.
Native American advocates and other critics have opposed its celebration due to its treatment of indigenous peoples and the consequences of European colonization, while Columbus Day has historically also served as a celebration of Italian-American heritage.
Trump, meanwhile, has embraced Columbus as part of his broader effort to defend what his administration describes as traditional American historical figures and symbols.
Where Columbus Day is a paid holiday
According to the Pew Research Center analysis, in almost all 30 states that recognize Columbus Day in some way, it falls on the second Monday in October, although Washington state sets its Columbus Day celebration for October 12 and Puerto Rico commemorates Columbus’ arrival there on November 19.
States that make Columbus Day a full paid holiday are:
- Idaho
- Utah
- Arizona
- Missouri
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Georgia
- West Virginia
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- new York
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
Seven states share Columbus Day with another celebration:
- Alabama is also Native American Heritage Day and Fraternal Day
- Virginia is also called Yorktown VE Day
The other five share the day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day:
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
Where Columbus Day is recognized without a day off
Ten other states recognize Columbus Day as a statutory or statutory holiday or other official day of recognition, but without providing a paid day off for state employees.
These states are:
- Florida
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
Tennessee is taking an unusual approach. Although the state officially observes Columbus Day, its governor can, and regularly does, shift that observance to the Friday after Thanksgiving so that communities get a four-day weekend, according to Pew.
Which states replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day?
Delaware abandoned Columbus Day altogether in 2009, replacing it with a floating holiday that public officials can take on any day they choose. In 2019, Maine, Vermont, and New Mexico, as well as the District of Columbia, changed their paid holidays from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
California also regularly uses an official proclamation to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Oklahoma uses another wording. This marks the second Monday in October as Oklahoma Native American Day, which is an unpaid day of celebration. The state separately observes Indian Day and has a law requiring the governor to declare a day honoring each tribe on a date chosen by that tribe.
Eighteen other states do not commemorate Native Americans on the second Monday in October, but have Native American-related celebrations at other times of the year.
Trump’s efforts to preserve Columbus Day
The states’ divergent policies stand in stark contrast to the position taken by the Trump administration.
In his 2026 proclamation, Trump called Columbus a “legend” and said his “vision, courage and perseverance” helped spark historic events that ultimately led to the creation of the United States.
The president also directly addressed attempts to remove Columbus from public commemoration, saying, “We are eternally indebted for his courageous journey, and we will never allow his legacy to be erased by radical extremists.”
This position continues the approach Trump took in 2025.
In last year’s proclamation, he accused “left-wing radicals” of toppling statues of Columbus, vandalizing monuments and trying to “erase our history.” He also described Columbus as a “true American hero.”
In an article for Truth Social, Trump also wished Americans a “Happy Columbus Day,” singling out the Italian-American community and again criticizing the removal of Columbus statues. He said “the days of looting are over”, adding that the statues were “back, more magnificent than ever”.
“This is a great day for our great Italian-American community and for the country of Italy itself, perhaps the greatest,” Trump wrote.
Why Columbus Day is celebrated differently across the United States
The divide around the second Monday in October has grown over the decades.
Columbus Day was first observed as a federal holiday in 1937 and was originally strongly associated with Italian-American heritage, according to Pew. In 1971, the holiday moved from October 12 to the second Monday in October.
In recent decades, Native American organizations and other critics have pushed governments to replace Columbus Day, highlighting Columbus’ treatment of indigenous peoples and the consequences of European colonization.
Anthony Tamburri, dean of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute at the City University of New York, said: News week that differences between states and cities are partly related to their Italian-American populations. He said cities and states with established Italian-American communities have a tradition of celebrating Christopher Columbus as a figure who “brought two worlds together,” while places with smaller Italian populations may not have the same tradition. “States and cities determine whether to celebrate it or not. That’s why we have the three different circumstances of (1) Columbus Day, (2) Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day, (3) Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”
Historian Philip Deloria, a professor at Harvard University, also previously said News week that the history of Columbus Day is also linked to efforts to combat anti-Italian prejudice and position Italian immigrants and their descendants within a shared American identity. He said: “Columbus Day has its roots in violent anti-Italian/anti-immigrant sentiments and practices in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and its rise as a holiday has much to do with efforts to combat these sentiments and position immigrant and Italian-origin communities against a shared sense of Americanness.
At the same time, he said Columbus’s own writings and accounts of his voyages showed that his plans for native populations included slavery, raising the question of why Native Americans would celebrate him.
Ben Railton, a professor at Fitchburg State University, previously said News week: “We desperately need a holiday focused on Native Americans; and it would also be great to have one focused on real Italian Americans, this community and this heritage.”
What happens next
Columbus Day falls on Monday, October 12, 2026, with the federal observance continuing across the country, but state governments mark the date in significantly different ways.
Trump’s comments and his 2026 proclamation indicate that at the federal level, his administration intends to continue to explicitly defend Columbus and the Columbus Day holiday. However, state approaches range from paid Columbus Day holidays to Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrations to combined commemorations to states where the second Monday in October is a regular business day.
Contact Newsweek editors about this story: Tobias Meyjes And Trevor Davies
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