Dane County to recognize Indigenous People’s Day as holiday

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – The Dane County Board voted last Thursday to recognize Indigenous People’s Day as an official county holiday. Indigenous People’s Day, which falls on the same day as Columbus Day on the second Monday in October, is now a paid holiday for all county staff.

Indigenous People’s Day was first recognized by the federal government in 2021, when President Joe Biden declared the second Monday in October as Indigenous People’s Day. 

The resolution, which passed on a 33-2 vote, says “These Indigenous people and cultures were disrupted, violated, and destroyed, as much of Dane County and its institutions were built directly upon the original homelands, villages, and sacred sites of the Indigenous peoples of this region.” 

There are 11 federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin, and the land that is now known as Dane County is the ancestral and traditional lands of the Ho-Chunk, Sauk, and Kickapoo nations. The resolution recognizing Indigenous People’s Day officially acknowledges the historical truths about the atrocities and oppression suffered by indigenous peoples, and of Dane County’s responsibility to celebrate the culture and contributions of indigenous peoples. 

Casey Brown is a documentarian and the former public relations officer with the Ho-Chunk Nation. Speaking at last Thursday’s meeting, he said that the day is important because it gets people more interested in the indigenous tribes in their area.

“What (this day is), and what I want it to do, is to let people have that day, have that programming, have them go out and learn about it,” Brown said. “Have them learn that right down the street, there’s a mound.”

The University of Wisconsin Madison campus is home to dozens of burial mounds.

Janice Rice is a member of the Ho-Chunk nation. She also spoke in support of recognizing Indigenous People’s Day last Thursday, saying that Indigenous people and history are the people and history of Dane County.

The resolution encourages Dane County employees to use the new holiday to celebrate and recognize indigenous people, and work to make the planet a more welcoming place. “I’m glad that in 2024 we are doing more here in the first county in our state to make the day an official holiday,” District 16 Supervisor Rick Rose, who helped introduce the resolution, said in a press release. “ We are recognizing that we live on original Ho-Chunk land and their history and heritage is a vital part of Dane County life.”