Discoverer's Day
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Discoverer's Day is a commemorative public holiday of the state of Hawaii in the United States, observed on the second Monday of each October. It is celebrated on the same day as Columbus Day, a federal holiday which Hawaii does not officially honor, as Christopher Columbus had no part in the history of Hawaii. One of the principal advocates of the creation of the alternative holiday to replace the irrelevant federal holiday was Bud Smyser, editor of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper. While many in Hawaii still celebrate the life of Columbus on Columbus Day, the alternative holiday also honors James Cook, the British navigator that became the first person to record the coordinates of the Hawaiian Islands and shared with the world the existence of the ancient Hawaiian people and society. Some people interpret the holiday as a celebration of all discoveries relative to the ancient and modern societies of Hawaii.
Like Columbus Day, Discoverer's Day is fraught with controversy. Many Native Hawaiians decry the celebration of both Columbus and Cook, known for having committed acts of violent subjugation of native people. Discoverer's Day is a day of protest for some advocacy groups. A popular protest site is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace and the Chancery building of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu. In 1493, Pope Alexander VI issued the Papal Bull Inter caetera that proclaimed that all Christian Europeans had ultimate dominion over newly discovered lands. This was used as a moral permission slip for Columbus and Cook in their exploits. Such advocacy groups have been commemorating the Discoverer's Day holiday as their own alternative, Indigenous Peoples Day. The week is called Indigenous Peoples Week.
