U.S. Congressman Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Assemblymember Howard Watts, Nevada Indian Commission Executive Director Stacey Montooth and Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy gathered with tribal community leaders at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign on October 13 to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day. Days earlier, President Trump had signed a proclamation declaring Monday to be Columbus Day and pledging to “reclaim” the Italian explorer’s “extraordinary legacy.”

“Our community is very resilient. This is not the first time they’ve tried to erase us,” said Barbara Hartzell, executive director of the nonprofit Native Voters Alliance Nevada and descendant of the Chemehuevi Paiute tribe. She added that Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in June vetoed a bill that had passed in the Legislature, which would have authorized the governor to issue proclamations urging the observance of Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday in October, the same day as Columbus Day. “Our voices are not silenced. … We are not going anywhere,” she said.

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