Holiday Hours: Indigenous Peoples Day / Columbus Day

Dióscoro Teófilo Puebla Tolín's 'First landing of Columbus on the Shores of the New World,' at San Salvador, W.I., Oct. 12, 1492, from 1862.

Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day is being observed Monday, Oct. 9. As Columbus Day, it commemorates Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas on Oct. 12, 1492. As Indigenous Peoples Day, it commemorates the harm to their cultures and communities that followed Columbus' arrival. 

Columbus' voyage had been celebrated on significant anniversaries but did not become an official holiday until being recognized by Colorado in 1905. It was declared a federal holiday in 1937.

Not all states recognize Columbus Day. Some local and state governments, including now the city of Boston, have alternative Native American or indigenous peoples' days to reflect that others had "discovered" the continent long before the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria arrived. Hawaii celebrates Discoverers' Day, marking when the Polynesians arrived on the islands. In Vermont, it's optional for public schools to close; most stay open.

In 2021, President Biden recognized Indigenous People's Day although Columbus Day remains a federal holiday. Massachusetts has not yet recognized it officially but there are bills at the State House that would change the day from Columbus Day. 

Columbus Day in the United States is also Canadian Thanksgiving. The two holidays have shared the second Monday in October since 1971.

The three-day weekend is more often celebrated in New England as the kickoff to the fall foliage season and, in North County, the day of the annual Mount Greylock Ramble, a hike up the state's tallest mountain along the Cheshire Harbor Trail and Ramblefest in Adams from noon to 5 the day before. 

Closed:

Federal, state and local offices; no mail delivery.
Banks
Public colleges and schools, most private schools
Public libraries
Most offices and businesses
BRTA is not running

Open:
Commercial establishments are required by law not to open before noon unless locally permitted.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.