OHIO – When Christopher Columbus landed in the new world he didn’t discover America he invaded the land some people say.
A movement has started to change Columbus day that celebrates Christopher Columbus’s arrival into the new world on October 12, 1492 to a day that honors Indigenous communities and their resiliency against European explorers like Christopher Columbus.
It is actually already happening, this morning in this nation’s capital there is no Columbus Day but Indigenous Peoples’ Day in a temporary move and may be permanent. Five states have also made the move to change the holiday to represent Natives, Minnesota, Vermont, New Mexico, Maine, and Louisiana. Some versions of Indigenous Peoples’ Day are being celebrated informally in many states.
Why? For Native Americans, Columbus Day is a reminder of colonial oppression in the hands of the United State conquers like Christofer Columbus and other colonists.
“Today we understand that while [Columbus] was an explorer and is credited with being one of the first Europeans to arrive in the Americas, we now know a great deal about the history and the way that he and his people behaved when they came to this continent,” said Shannon Speed, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center. “Which included pillaging, raping, and generally setting in motion genocide of the people who were already here. That’s not something we want to celebrate. That’s not something anyone wants to celebrate.”
The other side is the Italian Community saying this is their day to celebrate Italian Heritage and their contribution to what America has become. Italians want people to remember they also suffered religious and ethnic discrimination. Columbus Day was a way to humanize themselves in the discrimination they faced in the 19th century.
Where do you fall on today’s holiday?
