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    • Palm Beach County schoolchildren have the day off on the same day as Indigenous Peoples Day
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    Palm Beach County schoolchildren have the day off on the same day as Indigenous Peoples Day

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    Even in the wake of Hurricane Milton, it’s going to be a long weekend for Palm Beach County schoolchildren – and their parents. The children are off on Monday because teachers have a professional development day.

    So teachers will start working in the schools.

    Monday is also Columbus and Indigenous Peoples Day.

    They are separate holidays that are intertwined. Both were declared federal holidays on the second Monday in October: Columbus Day in 1937 by then-President Franklin Roosevelt and Indigenous Peoples Day by President Joe Biden a year ago.

    More: The calendar is set for the 2025-26 school year. Important dates, holidays for Palm Beach County students

    Columbus Day commemorates the voyages of Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer considered the first European to land in the Western Hemisphere. It is an ancient celebration of Italian-American heritage and culture.

    In recent years, some states have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.

    Columbus’s expeditions marked the beginning of centuries of slavery and genocide of Native Americans. His crew in particular brought disease and slavery to the inhabitants of the island of Hispanola (where the Dominican Republic and Haiti are located).

    Indigenous Peoples Day celebrates the customs and culture of the indigenous people of the US, many of whom were killed, forcibly displaced, and enslaved during the “conquest” of the West.

    Biden declared Indigenous Peoples Day in October 2023 to commemorate Native Americans’ “resilience, strength and perseverance, as well as a source of incredible contributions.”

    More: The Pilgrims did not invite Indians to a feast. Why the Thanksgiving Myth Matters.

    Here are some ways to learn more about the Indians of Palm Beach County

    Palm Beach County has a number of places where you can learn more about indigenous people and places to explore on Indingenous Peoples Day:

    DuBois Park and the Jaega Tribe

    DuBois Park – Jupiter Park was once home to the Jaega tribe. The DuBois House sits atop one of Palm Beach County’s best-known evidences of ancient peoples: Jaega Hill.

    The mound is known as a midden and contains remains of shells and other debris.

    The Jaega took Jonathan Dickinson and his group of Quakers hostage for a few days after they were shipwrecked off the coast in 1696. Less than ten years later, the Jaega were exhausted by English slave traders. While sheltering in the Keys, she and other native Floridians took refuge in Cuba, but most were wiped out by disease.

    The DuBois Pioneer Home, belonging to the notable DuBois pioneer family, is also open for tours.

    Address: 19075 DuBois Road, Jupiter

    Jupiter Lighthouse – See Native American artifacts

    Learn about the Jaega tribe across the Jupiter Inlet from DuBois Park at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum, which also chronicles the history of local Native American tribes like the Jaega and their encounters with Spanish explorers.

    The museum displays their artifacts found in the Jupiter Inlet area, including stone tools, pottery and decorations made from shells and bones.

    Address: 500 Captain Armor’s Way, Jupiter

    More: A visual tour of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse through the years

    Battlefield of Loxahatchee and the Seminoles

    The Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park marks the Seminole tribe’s resistance to American settlers and troops during the Second Seminole War.

    Both battles at Loxhatchee took place in the park or nearby in 1838.

    The first battle, on January 15, was initiated by an Army-Navy force known as the Everglades Expeditionary Unit, led by Navy Lieutenant Levin Powell. The amphibious unit was hunting Seminole villages.

    Troops captured a Seminole woman and forced her to lead them to her village, about five miles downstream of the Loxahatchee River. Powell’s men attacked the Seminole warriors in the swamp. So many officers, including Powell, were injured that their subordinates fled.

    Joseph E. Johnston, who would become the Confederacy’s top commander during the Civil War, managed to rally the troops and prevent a massacre.

    In the second battle, Major General Thomas Jessup led a massive force of 1,500 men from Fort Pierce to fight the same warriors nine days later on January 24.

    The warriors managed to hold Jessup’s forces at bay and retreat further into the Everglades.

    The park features a one-mile trail with historical markers and a recreated Seminole Village at nearby Riverbend Park.

    Address: 9060 Indiantown Road, Jupiter.

    The last days off for schoolchildren in 2024

    The next free day for students is November 5, Election Day, because many public schools are also polling places.

    The last holidays of the year are Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hannukkah and Kwanzaa.

    Holly Baltz is an investigative editor at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at [email protected].

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