Indigenous peoples commemorate their centuries-long legacy of resilience through ceremonies, dances and speeches.

In 2021, former President Joe Biden formally commemorated Indigenous Peoples Day.

A growing number of states and cities have likewise embraced the observance — shifting away from a holiday long anchored in the celebration of explorer Christopher Columbus toward one centered on the peoples whose lives and culture were irrevocably transformed by colonialism.

What follows is an examination of why it is designated Indigenous Peoples Day and the manner in which it is observed.

Indigenous Peoples' Day has been observed for decades in various forms and under many names to celebrate their history and culture and to acknowledge the challenges they continue to face.

Biden had remarked in a statement that the occasion was intended to “honor America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations that continue to thrive today.”

It is usually observed on the second Monday of October, the same day as Columbus Day, a federal holiday established in response to discrimination against Italian Americans, to recognize Columbus's sighting in 1492 of what came to be known as the Americas.

In recent years, the day has been marked by protests against memorials to Columbus, by calls for environmental justice and the return of Indigenous lands, and by campaigns to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women.

President Donald Trump has declared that he will not recognize Indigenous Peoples Day alongside Columbus Day in October.

Although not a federal holiday, certain states, along with Washington, D.C., observe holidays commemorating Indigenous people, several of which fall on the second Monday in October.

Indigenous Peoples Day is typically observed in conjunction with Columbus Day or supplants the federal holiday entirely.

Numerous cities and school systems likewise recognize Indigenous Peoples Day.

“For generations, federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures,” Biden wrote in the Indigenous Peoples’ Day proclamation.

Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength, as well as the immeasurable positive impact they have made on every aspect of American society.

In a separate Columbus Day proclamation, Biden praised Italian Americans' role in U.S. society, while also noting the violence and harm that Columbus and other explorers of the era brought to the Americas.

When Columbus, an Italian, landed in what is now the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, he was the first of a wave of European explorers in the Americas who sought gold and other wealth, including people to enslave.

During that search, Native populations were decimated.

“Today, we also acknowledge the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities,” Biden wrote.

“It is a measure of our greatness as a Nation that we do not seek to bury these shameful episodes of our past — that we face them honestly, we bring them to the light, and we do all we can to address them.”