Waterville Mayor to Defy Maine Law, Proclaim ‘Columbus Day’ on October 14

In April 2019, Maine joined several other states in following the national trend of renaming Columbus Day "Indigenous Peoples Day" to honor the populations whose land, families, rights, and culture were bulldozed by incoming colonizers.

Waterville Mayor Nick Isgro, however, doesn't think we should switch things up with the October holiday. He plans to proclaim the holiday "Columbus Day" in the face of Maine's law, according to the Press Herald.

He will read the proclamation at this evening's City Council meeting, which begins at Chace Community Forum in the Bill & Joan Alfond Main Street Commons at 150 Main Street, the newspaper stated.

Isgro’s proclamation pays respect to Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer who sailed to the Americas in 1492 and who has become a symbol of the blatant violence and oppression natives endure at the hands of colonizers.

The Portland Press Herald reported that Isgro argues that we should pay deference to the European immigrants who brought the music, art, science, and religious principles to America, helping shape the U.S. that exists today.