PORTLAND (AP) – An attempt to change the name of the Columbus Day holiday on the school calendar in Maine’s largest city to add a reference to Indians has ended in failure.

The Portland School Committee split down the middle Wednesday night on the bid to have the October holiday renamed as Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day as a way to honor the heritage of native Americans.

The measure had the backing of three Green Independents on the school board.

Jason Toothaker, who led the effort for the name change, said Christopher Columbus exploited American Indians, and many of them today view his voyage to the New World as a tragic event.

But other school committee members said the panel has no authority over federal holidays and shouldn’t get involved.

While Green members on the board saw the Columbus/Indigenous Day name as a compromise, school committee member Jim DiMillo said the idea was an example of symbolic politics that distracts the board from doing its job.