The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign on the Strip is a world-famous photo opportunity for visitors, but on Monday, Oct. 12, tourists stopped taking photos as local Indigenous leaders and elected officials took time to acknowledge Indigenous Peoples Day, instead of Columbus Day.
Clark County presented a proclamation on the grass to observe the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples' Day. Nevada officially celebrates the day on Aug. 9, after the former governor, Brian Sandoval, signed a bill into law in 2017.
“I think it's time for Nevada to come together and recognize Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday of October,” said Democratic Assembly member Shea Backus, currently the only Indigenous lawmaker in Nevada.
Backus introduced a bill during the 2025 Nevada Legislative Session to move the observance to when tribes and Indigenous people actually celebrate it. However, Nevada’s Republican Governor Joe Lombardo vetoed the measure.
“I knew a couple of days before that bill signing, he was vetoing Indigenous Peoples Day," she said. "And I told him, ‘I'm like, governor, I'll work during the interim and bring it back,’”
Others aren’t waiting for an official change.
At the Palms Resort Casino, the first and only tribally owned casino near the Strip, the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation held a powwow that started on the casino floor and moved into the Pearl Theater for hundreds of spectators.
The public shared traditional songs and dances to highlight their culture on the day of the celebration.
The Yuhaaviatam of Sam Manuel Nation is a financial contributor to Nevada Public Radio.
