Several states have already chosen to switch from "Columbus Day" to "Indigenous People's Day" but is it the right decision? To understand the extent of this issue, we must first understand why this particular day is significant: In 1492, Christopher Columbus intended to sail over to India via a potentially faster route. This route ended up taking him to what we now know as the United States. Except there's one problem, that isn't true. What really happened was that Columbus actually landed in the Bahamas, which was already inhabited by a native tribe, and when he went back to Spain, he told the king and queen of his already discovered "discovery" which led to a chain of events that ultimately led to the colonization of North America. You may be thinking: "Well that isn't so bad, look at what it led to!" and to that I ask you: "At what cost?". When Columbus returned to Spain, he also brought gold to demonstrate the wealth of the country, and 10 kidnapped native Americans, 2 of whom died on the voyage to Spain.
The argument for keeping Columbus day is that it "Demolishes American History" which is ironic considering that many things involving native History are already not taught in schools and aren't exactly easy to find if you don't know what to look for. The argument that it should be replaced with Indigenous People's Day is that Columbus's expeditions led to mass genocide of native peoples across North America. If we fast forward our story a few years, European soldiers are invading North America, with genocide being inflicted all around. Natives were executed, tortured, extorted, scammed, and stolen from by the various countries wanting to get a piece of the "New World". Columbus was not a savior or a hero, he was a catalyst for mass genocide.
Many horrible things were done to secure the white person's future in North America. Did you know that Abraham Lincoln, who is credited with freeing slaves, also gave an order that ended up being the largest mass hanging in U.S history. Or that in 1763-1764 the British used biological warfare against natives by knowingly giving blankets that were practically infested with smallpox and other pathogens? Or that during a battle between the U.S government and a native tribe, a particularly skilled native warrior was invited to discuss a treaty between both sides, and was told to come without weapons or any company, was shot to death? Or even that from 1860 to the 1930s, boarding schools were created to erase any Native culture left inside of the children? My grandmother is a survivor of one such boarding school and she once claimed that if you disobeyed, you would be hit or smacked with something like a stick or ruler. But that isn't the worst part, from my research, these kids would sometimes be sexually assaulted or even be killed and left in unmarked graves.
After all of that, we have barely made a dent in all of the known incidents of genocide against native peoples. Replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day doesn't do justice to all of the lives lost as a result of Christopher Columbus, but it is a start. Support indigenous peoples and Indigenous People's day! I strongly encourage you to learn more about the history of racial violence in America, visit the Native American House on campus, fight for justice! I told you what you can do, it's up to you now to share your newfound knowledge. Thank you, for reading.
(Made by Matthew)
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