According to KVUE-TV in Austin, Hays County will now celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day rather than Columbus Day.
The Hays County Commissioners Court released a proclamation announcing that the holiday formerly known as Columbus Day will be celebrated as Indigenous Peoples' Day in the county moving forward. The proclamation calls on residents, public entities and businesses to recognize the history of Hays County’s indigenous peoples.
The court also changed the county's holiday schedule to reflect October 12, 2019, as Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day. It's not an official County holiday this year, but in future years the day is set to be observed by government employees and will continue to be known as Indigenous Peoples' Day. Next year, the holiday will fall on Monday, October 12..
The proclamation reads:
"Indigenous Peoples are the original inhabitants and caretakers of any given region, having maintained cultural traditions associated with their respective regions despite violent occupation by foreign invaders and remain the inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and retain social, cultural, economic, and political characteristics distinct from the dominant societies in which they live.
Hays County contains within its boundaries one of the oldest continually inhabited sites in North America which has served as a home to many different groups, bands, and tribes of Indigenous Peoples for at least 13,000 years. Among these groups were over 200 bands of Coahuiltecan ancestors, who first saw the bluebonnets of Texas, and were the first people that the Spaniards encountered during their invasion. Coahuiltecan ancestors, more commonly referred to as Mission Indians, gradually assimilated into the Spaniard and later Mexican identities for survival, eventually becoming the majority of Texas citizens now known as Hispanics and Latinos."