Observed by California | Type Historical | |
Significance A day in honor of Native Americans Date Fourth Friday in September 2016 date September 23 (2016-09-23) 2017 date September 22 (2017-09-22) | ||
Native American Day is a holiday in the U.S. states of California and South Dakota. It honors Native American cultures and contributions to their respective states and the United States. The state of Tennessee observes a similar American Indian Day each year. The state of Nevada has also declared an "American Indian Day" on September 23, 2016. Governor Brian Sandoval signed the declaration on September 20, 2016.
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California
In 1968, Governor Ronald Reagan signed a resolution calling for a holiday called American Indian Day, to be held the Fourth Friday in September. In 1998, the California Assembly passed AB 1953, which made Native American Day an official state holiday, observed annually on the fourth Friday in September.
South Dakota
In 1989, the South Dakota legislature unanimously passed legislation proposed by Governor George S. Mickelson to proclaim 1990 as the "Year of Reconciliation" between Native Americans and whites, to change Columbus Day to Native American Day and to make Martin Luther King's birthday into a state holiday. Since 1990, the second Monday in October has been celebrated as Native American Day in South Dakota.
South Dakota and Vermont, which celebrates Indigenous People's Day, are the only states to practice non-observance of the federal holiday of Columbus Day.
Tennessee
In 1994 the state General Assembly established the "fourth Monday in September of each year" to be especially observed in Tennessee as "American Indian Day" (TCA 15-2-106), "to recognize the contributions of American Indians with suitable ceremony and fellowship designed to promote greater understanding and brotherhood between American Indians and the non-Indian people of the state of Tennessee".