Milpitas Unified board adopts resolution recognizing Oct. 13, 2025, as Indigenous People's Day

The Milpitas Unified School District Board of Education adopted Resolution 2026.13 on Oct. 14, 2025, formally recognizing Oct. 13, 2025, as Indigenous People's Day.

The resolution, read into the record by a board clerk, cites the holiday’s origins — proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native nations to a United Nations conference on discrimination against indigenous peoples in the Americas — and notes that municipalities and states have adopted the observance in recent decades. It records that as of 2020, 14 states and more than 130 cities observe Indigenous People's Day on the second Monday of October, and it says there are over 600 Native nations in the United States and about 6.8 million Americans who identify as Native American.

The text contrasts Indigenous People's Day with Columbus Day, calling out that Columbus Day was established as a federal holiday in 1937 and "does not currently provide an opportunity to reflect on the colonization of North America by Europeans," language that appears verbatim in the adopted resolution. The resolution also states that European colonization led to the suppression, forced assimilation and genocide of indigenous peoples and names historical indigenous figures and Mission-era communities associated with Mission San Francisco, Mission San Jose and Mission Santa Clara.

The board’s text refers to a local Bay Area tribal people and describes their ancestral territories across counties in the region. The document further affirms the district’s responsibility to foster inclusivity, racial equity and justice in its schools and encourages observances, ceremonies and educational activities to promote awareness of indigenous peoples’ histories and cultures.

The board passed and adopted Resolution 2026.13 at its Oct. 14 meeting; the resolution text records that the adoption will be recorded "by the following vote," but the meeting text provided does not include the vote tally or the names of any mover or seconder. The resolution number is listed as 2026.13.

The district did not include implementation details or a schedule of districtwide activities in the resolution text provided. Any planned ceremonies, curriculum changes or school observances would be set out in subsequent district communications or administrative action.