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. 13. 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 it was 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 Peoples' Day, although Columbus Day remains a federal holiday. Massachusetts has not yet recognized it 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.

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Jillian Tatro's Killer Guilty of First-Degree Murder

Staff Reports 03:25PM / Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Jillian Tatro

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A Berkshire County jury on Tuesday returned a verdict of guilty in the murder of Jillian Tatro four years ago. 

 

Luis Rosado, 53, was found guilty of murder in the first degree with extreme atrocity for stabbing his 38-year-old wife to death in an apartment they shared at 46 Charles St. on May 28, 2022.

 

He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

 

In a statement, Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said his thoughts were with Tatro's family and that her son "demonstrated tremendous poise and courage during his testimony in the trial."

 

"Ms. Tatro was a victim of domestic violence. The most dangerous time in a victim of domestic violence life is when they are prepared to leave," he said. "We know that Jillian was planning to leave on the Tuesday following her murder. Her death is a tragic example of lethal consequence of domestic violence and the lasting impact these crimes have on families and communities."

 

He and Tatro had been married five months and during that time, Tatro had sought a restraining order against her husband.

 

Rosado had been convicted of domestic violence on another individual in October 2020. At the time, he was charged with three counts of assault and battery on a household member, strangulation and larceny and was sentenced to a minimum of a year in the Berkshire County House of Corrections.