“In Fourteen Hundred Ninety-Two….”
Well, you know what happened.
Ask any Elementary schooler and they’ll cheerfully parrot this catchy rhyme back to you. Ask that same Elementary schooler what really happened, and the answer might not be so pretty.
We’re taught from the get-go in our education the story about the so-called “discovery” of America by Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. Often, if we learn anything about the story, it’s portrayed as an epic tale of a heroic savior and his crew who boarded ships from Spain (again – why are we taught the names of his ships more than we’re taught the true story of his voyage and its impact?) and miraculously landed on and discovered the Americas. For some reason, we – and I mean, like, everyone – is given this glorious and larger-than-life picture of Columbus.
Sorry to break it to you (and your second-grade teacher), but frankly, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Columbus did NOT, in fact, discover America.
First of all, he didn’t land anywhere within what is now the United States. Columbus intended to find a route to the Indies by sea, but because of navigation inexperience and errors he landed in what is now the Bahamas. When he got there, he certainly did not find uninhabited land; there were millions of Indigenous people already established.
Even worse was the way he treated these people afterward and the greater ripples his voyages made across history. He and his men committed mass genocide, killing thousands of people; they also engaged in brutal torture and many other forms of inhumane treatment of the Indigenous tribes. In addition, he took advantage of the welcoming and kind nature of these individuals he found, believing that because of their innocence he would be able to subjugate them into slavery. (Spoiler – that’s exactly what he did.) He also widely expanded the practice of slavery by contributing to the start of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
“But the issue is that by celebrating Columbus Day – even in name only – we are championing a man who stole land, committed genocide and led to millions being enslaved. Is this really the ideal that we want to hold up as a country?”
So, this brings me to my point: Why would we ever celebrate a holiday for this guy?
Between the fact that he really didn’t discover our country and that he had such a monumentally terrible impact on Indigenous people, there doesn’t seem to be anything about him worth dedicating a day every year to. Despite this, 24 of 50 states in the US still officially celebrate the holiday – including Ohio. You might ask, “So what? We don’t actively celebrate him…” but the issue is that by celebrating Columbus Day – even in name only – we are championing a man who stole land, committed genocide and led to millions being enslaved. Is this really the ideal that we want to hold up as a country?
Instead of celebrating this holiday, some states have now begun to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the second Monday of October. Rather than Columbus, Indigenous Peoples’ Day honors and celebrates Native American history and culture. 14 states observe this holiday, but quite a few of these do it in addition to still including Columbus Day as an official holiday.
Don’t get me wrong, the celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a big step in the right direction towards honoring the legacy and tradition of native peoples who have so long been overlooked in this country; however, as long as we continue to celebrate Columbus Day, we must do so with full understanding that the idealized childhood story is nowhere near the truth.
So next year for Indigenous Peoples’ Day (and every day until then), listen to and share the stories of Indigenous people! Find out whether maybe the land you live on is stolen land. And most importantly… don’t celebrate that other holiday.
Resource to educate and find ways to help Indigenous people in America today.