The Montana House of Representatives gave initial approval to remove Columbus Day from the list of state legal holidays and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day. The House voted 62-38 to approve the creation of Indigenous Peoples Day, on the second Monday in October.

Missoula Democrat Shane Morigeau is carrying House Bill 219. He says Christopher Columbus is associated with ideas that Native people are less than human and can be exterminated. “And what we know is that he brutalized indigenous peoples when he landed. Didn’t discover our country. And that we continue on with this holiday, going along as if he was an honorable person and he continues to deserve our respect through celebration.”