What Does Indigenous Mean? – And Why Some States No Longer Celebrate Columbus Day

While I was reviewing videos about Canadian Thanksgiving YouTube displayed a suggested video from CBC Kids News. The video is simply titled The Word Indigenous and it provides an animated explanation of what the word indigenous means when referring to people. The video also does a great job of explaining why the word indigenous is preferrable to other words. The video was created for a Canadian audience so there are some references that students in United States might not understand, but those differences do present another teaching opportunity for those of us in the United States. 

Here in Maine, as in a handful of other states, we no longer have Columbus Day as a state holiday. In its place we have Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The Daily Bellringer just released a new video that explains the history of Columbus Day and why some cities and states are now celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead. Watch the video on YouTube and open the description to find a set of discussion questions to ask your students.

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