Clarissa Sabattus, Tribal Chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, holds eagle feathers during the signing ceremony to establish Indigenous Peoples' Day, Friday, April 26, 2019, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. Gov. Janet Mills signed the bill, adding Maine to the growing number of states who have passed similar legislation. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Clarissa Sabattus, Tribal Chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, holds eagle feathers during the signing ceremony to establish Indigenous Peoples' Day, Friday, April 26, 2019, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. Gov. Janet Mills signed the bill, adding Maine to the growing number of states who have passed similar legislation. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Clarissa Sabattus, Tribal Chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, holds eagle feathers during the signing ceremony to establish Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the State House in Augusta, Maine on Friday.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said Friday that “there is power in a name and who we choose to honor” before signing a law that drops the state’s recognition of the federal holiday.

The October holiday will now be called Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Maine.

A small but growing number of states, including New Mexico and Vermont, have moved to swap celebrating explorer Christopher Columbus for a tribute to Native Americans.

Demands to do away with Columbus Day date to the 1970s. Native American tribes are pressing for the change, pointing to atrocities they suffered.

Critics say that suppressing history could lead to repeating it.