Mayor Lori Lightfoot doesn't plan to eliminate Columbus Day city holiday despite CPS decision to only honor Indigenous People's Day

Friday, February 28, 2020
CHICAGO (WLS) -- After Chicago Public Schools announced they would no longer celebrate Columbus Day, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she would not eliminate the holiday at the city level.

"I have no plans to support any changes in the elimination of Columbus Day," Lightfoot said on Friday. "For a number of years, CPS essentially celebrated both Columbus Day and Indigenous People's Day. I thought that that made sense."
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Lightfoot's remarks come after Chicago Public Schools announced it would only celebrate Indigenous People's Day on the second Monday in October.

RELATED: Chicago Public Schools will now celebrate Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day

The mayor said there's certainly "more that could be done to elevate the history of indigenous people in the past but also in the present."

"They are a marginalized community," Lightfoot said.



Chicago Public Schools' leaders voted to approve the calendar change on Wednesday.
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Indigenous People's Day is a nod to Native American people and their cultures.

Columbus Day celebrates the arrival of Christopher Columbus, in the Americas.
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