Thanksgiving targeted.
Via Helena IR:
A bill that would change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day cleared the Montana House on Wednesday.
Lawmakers offered passionate arguments on both sides of the bill, with those supporting it saying celebrating Columbus Day is demeaning to the state’s Native population, that Columbus is not a historic figure worth honoring and that legislators needed to stand in support of Native Americans.
Opposition said history is complicated and Columbus’ legacy can’t be dismissed entirely.
“This is a difficult subject to broach, but there’s really no way to talk about this without talking about the negative implications Columbus Day has had on myself and so many other Montanans,” said Rep. Shane Morigeau, a Democrat from Missoula who is carrying House Bill 219. It passed second reading in the House on a 62-38 vote, meaning it will likely move to the Senate. Similar bills died in the 2017 session.
Rep. Sharon Stewart Peregoy, a Democrat from Crow Agency who voted for the bill, said it could serve as a rallying point.
“This is a point to heal. In this atmosphere today of intolerance at times, in this atmosphere of having to justify who you are, our existence, I think it’s important to look at this as a rallying point of healing,” Stewart Peregoy said.