The first week in May of each year is declared to be Hernando de Soto Week in Mississippi in recognition, observation and commemoration of Hernando de Soto who led the first and most imposing expedition ever made by Europeans into the wilds of North America and the State of Mississippi, and in further recognition of the Spanish explorer's 187-day journey from the Tombigbee River basin on our state's eastern boundary, westward to the place of discovery of the Mississippi River on May 8, 1541.
This week shall be a week of recognition, observation and commemoration of Hernando de Soto and European exploration and no day of this week shall be recognized as a legal holiday.