The deeds of a long-dead Italian explorer have been celebrated in the U.S. for over 80 years.Â
But in Montana, Senate Bill 146 aims to remove Columbus Day from the docket of state holidays and replace it with Indigenous Peoplesâ Day.Â
Seven other states â Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, South Dakota, Vermont and Oregon â have already replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoplesâ Day, while Alabama and Oklahoma celebrate both holidays. Â
Montana Sen. Shane Morigeau wrote and sponsored the bill. This is not the first time he has brought this issue up in the legislature. Morigeau brought forth a similar bill in 2019, but it was killed in the Senateâs State Administration Committee. As of Monday, Feb. 15, SB 146 was in that very same committee.Â
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Religious organizations would be exempt from reporting political activities as required by Montanaâs campaign finance laws under legislation inspired by a local churchâs fight against Montanaâs top elections watchdog in 2004.
Under Senate Bill 162, tax-exempt religious groupsâ political communications would be excluded from Montana s definitions of campaign contributions, election communications, electioneering communications or political expenditures. It s carried by Sen. David Howard, R-Park City.
Chad Hesler, a senior pastor at Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church in East Helena, told the Senate State Administration Committee on Monday that the legislation âfollows in the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson to limit the intrusion of government into the well-being of mankind, which is the essential role of religion.â
A procession of supporters of two bills establishing an Indigenous Peopleâs Day in Montana offered their personal stories Wednesday to illustrate a broader lack of understanding of Native American history â as well Columbus Dayâs namesake â in the state.
âWhy celebrate a man who committed deplorable and horrendous acts against humanity?â Billings resident Ben Pease asked the Senate State Administration Committee. âYeah, Christopher Columbus was a murderer, we know this. But more importantly today, why teach an alternate, false history to our children and ourselves, and continue to lionize such a horrible human being?â
Pease, an Apsaalooke artist who is one of the co-founders of Indigenous Peopleâs Day Montana, said the new holiday would offer a chance to celebrate Montanaâs diversity while correcting long-standing misperceptions about the violent colonization of the continent.