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Indigenous Peoples' Day

From All About the Holidays

Indigenous Peoples' Day
2 minK1st2nd3rd4th5thSocial Studies
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Summary

August 9 is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Created by the United Nations in 1994, the holiday honors Indigenous people and cultures around the world. While there is no single definition for indigenous, Indigenous people maintain close ties to their ancestral land and traditions. In the United States, some Americans celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of or along with Columbus Day on the second Monday in October.

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Teaching resources

Discussion questions

Discussion

Short explainer (2 min) from PBS LearningMedia's *All About the Holidays*.

  1. What does it mean to be Indigenous to a place?
  2. Why did the United Nations create a day for Indigenous peoples?
  3. Why do some communities observe Indigenous Peoples' Day in October?

Quick work-a-long

Vocabulary: Indigenous, ancestral, culture, United Nations.

Try it: Find out which Indigenous peoples lived where your school is now, and write two sentences about them.