Officials in Traverse City approve Indigenous Peoples Day

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - Officials in Traverse City have approved marking Indigenous Peoples Day on the same date as the federal Columbus Day holiday.

Supporters of the resolution about Indigenous Peoples Day are scheduled to meet this week to begin planning how to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reports (http://bit.ly/1CuNtcS ). The celebration will take place on the second Monday in October.

Randy Day, a member of the Native American group Idle No More Michigan, said those involved want to find the best ways to recognize the history of the native people in the area while celebrating the diversity of the northwestern Lower Peninsula community.

"This is a really, really unique area and I think this recognition just helps to showcase how unique it is around here," Day said. "We are going to work on the best ways to go about celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day ... and just working on ways to bring the differing communities together."

That effort will move forward without help from city officials, who said they won't take celebration of the holiday any further than the resolution adopted Monday to approve the day.

"It's just out there, it's not something we are going to do anything with," said commissioner Jim Carruthers, who sponsored the resolution. "It would be nice if we did some kind of educational event but I don't think the city will take it any further."

After the Monday vote, supporters first applauded then shared hugs while several wiped away tears. Indigenous Peoples Day was first celebrated in Berkeley, California, in 1992. It seeks to promote Native American culture and history instead of celebrating Christopher Columbus.

An 8-month review preceded approval of the resolution. The city Human Rights Commission, which drafted and recommended the resolution, discussed ways to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day but has no plans to do so, said Lee Hornberger, commission chairman.

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Information from: Traverse City Record-Eagle, http://www.record-eagle.com