2025 Legislature: Bill aims to recognize new date as Indigenous Peoples Day in Nevada
Clark County lit the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign in orange, yellow and turquoise on Monday in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day. A potential bill in the next legislative session would aim to further elevate the day that honors Indigenous people and acknowledges the real history of the United States, according to the lawmaker proposing it.
Nevada’s only sitting Indigenous legislator, Assemblywoman Shea Backus, plans to introduce a bill in the next session that would make Indigenous Peoples Day a statewide holiday on the second Monday of October.
“This isn’t just about a day of recognition,” Backus said at the sign lighting celebration on Monday. “It’s about placing Indigenous voices at the forefront of decisions that shape the future of this state.”
The assemblywoman, who is up for re-election in November, said Indigenous communities have been left out of the rooms where decisions are made about “our lands, our people and our future” for too long.
“Today, we commit ourselves to changing that,” she said. “This isn’t just a celebration. It’s a call to action. We stand here to ensure that our voices are no longer an afterthought but are central to every conversation about the future of Nevada.”
The bill aims to expand upon a law that Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom had successfully pushed for in 2017 when he was in the Senate. Senate Bill 105 authorized the governor to annually issue a proclamation designating Aug. 9 as Indigenous Peoples Day in Nevada.
Taylor Patterson, executive director of Native Voters Alliance Nevada, said Backus’ dedication is unwavering, and “together we’re going to make sure that Indigenous Peoples Day is recognized statewide, on the correct day — the second Monday in October.”
Patterson said that land acknowledgements, which are formal statements recognizing Indigenous peoples as the original inhabitants of the land, are a start, but incorporating Indigenous voices into every level of work is important.
“Today is about celebrating Indigenous voices, but it’s also about power,” Patterson said. “We are still here, we are thriving and we are leading. Let’s continue this journey together, with Indigenous voices at the forefront of shaping Nevada’s future.”
Backus said the larger point is to have appropriate conversations about the actual history.
Advocates have long pushed to replace Columbus Day across the country with Indigenous Peoples Day to denounce Christopher Columbus’ treatment of Native Americans, who for millennia lived in the Western Hemisphere before Columbus set foot on the land.
Only 16 states and the federal government still observe the second Monday in October as Columbus Day, according to Pew Research Center. Nevada celebrates neither Columbus day nor Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday of October, according to state law, though it does celebrate two additional holidays, Nevada Day on Oct. 31 and Family Day on the Friday following the fourth Thursday in November.
Backus, who is facing a close battle for re-election against Republican David Brog in Assembly District 37, said she is always an advocate for Indigenous issues, and if she loses her re-election she will find a sponsor for the bill.
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.
