When is Columbus / Indigenous Peoples’ Day?
In 2026, Columbus / Indigenous Peoples’ Day falls on Monday, October 12, 2026. It is classified here as a paid public holiday.
History of Columbus / Indigenous Peoples’ Day
The second Monday in October is legally Columbus Day on the United States federal calendar. Recent American Samoa government memorandums have used the dual title Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples’ Day. That wording retains the federal calendar identity while making space to recognise Indigenous histories and the harms associated with colonisation, rather than repeating a misleading story that Columbus ‘discovered’ inhabited lands.
Christopher Columbus never visited American Samoa. Samoan settlement, navigation, language, land tenure and political relationships developed independently across many centuries. American Samoa’s later relationship with the United States arose through nineteenth- and twentieth-century Pacific geopolitics and the deeds of 1900 and 1904, not through Columbus’s Atlantic voyages. Indigenous Peoples’ Day can therefore centre Samoan knowledge without inventing a direct local Columbus event.
The 2026 federal date is Monday, October 12. The day is not named in the older §1.0501 list, so ASG closure should be confirmed from the current Governor’s memorandum; repeated prior memorandums establish recent practice but not a substitute for that year’s notice. Federal offices close, private employers decide their schedules, and essential services may remain staffed.
How Columbus / Indigenous Peoples’ Day is observed
Federal holiday Monday, October 12 in 2026; ASG has recently used a dual title, but current-year territorial notice controls closure.
Traditions of Columbus / Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Aiga and community
Families and educators may centre Samoan genealogy, language, voyaging knowledge and relationships to land and sea. Practices differ among families, villages and denominations, so participation should never be treated as uniform.
Public life
Schools, libraries or civic groups may discuss colonisation and Indigenous continuity rather than staging one mandatory celebration. Samoan language and local protocol may accompany a wider United States or Christian observance.
Planning the day
Check the annual ASG memorandum and avoid assuming that the federal name or closure rule applies identically to every institution. Hospitals, utilities, transport and other essential services may use rosters or grant another day instead.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official American Samoa official holiday calendar or legislation. Government, regional, school and employer schedules in American Samoa may differ; check the linked official source and current local notices before making time-sensitive plans.
History sources: American Samoa Code: public holidays, American Samoa Code: paid holidays for government employees, American Samoa Administrative Code: weekend observance, American Samoa Government: general memorandums, American Samoa Government: executive orders, U.S. Office of Personnel Management: federal holidays, U.S. Department of the Interior: American Samoa, U.S. Department of the Interior: acquisition process, National Park Service: Samoan people and culture, National Park Service: American Samoa in World War II.
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