In the past decade, the debate over the celebration of Columbus Day has got mainstream attention, however the arguments behind changing the name of the holiday has created many divided groups, starting decades prior. Columbus Day was recognized as a federal holiday in 1934, under Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, however the holiday had been celebrated in some areas since the mid-1700s. When America gained its independence, "Colombia" became a synonym for the United States, according to NPR. Since then, celebrations commemorating Columbus' discovery of the "New World" have been publicized.
There is little debate over whether Columbus should be credited in discovering the Americas, yet the argument over how to appropriately commemorate him as a person has been a decades-long debate. Columbus' actions in the West Indies are challenging to overlook; an explorer who "enslaved and brutalized native inhabitants" maybe should not be glorified and credited as a whole.
The debate over whether the holiday should exist or not, is not a simple one. The holiday does contain relevant connections to United States history, but the "native inhabitants" are a key part of that story, too.
So where does the public stand on this issue? For many Italian-Americans, Christopher Columbus' legacy is one that ought to still be celebrated, as they "saw celebrating the life and accomplishments of Christopher Columbus as a way for Italian Americans to be accepted by the mainstream." Following the large wave of Italian immigration in the late 1800s, these newcomers faced much discrimination. Being able to tie their shared heritage to a celebrated "hero" in America was a way they thought to become more accepted in society. Colorado was the first state to recognize the holiday in 1906 due to pressure from a local Italian newspaper, and within five years 14 other states were also celebrating Columbus Day. Many Italian-Americans still the support the holiday today, whether out of support for Columbus or celebration of Italian heritage in America, is still up for debate.
On the other side of the debate, many Native Americans and non-natives alike are voicing their opinions in opposition to the holiday, citing Columbus' horrible mistreatment of the native populations. Starting in 1970, news reports each October were published on the controversy. In 1992, Sacramento celebrated "Indigenous Peoples Day" alongside Columbus Day and Berkeley, CA took it a step further in replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, according to Forbes. The change in name is a start for many native groups, however Columbus Day is still celebrated by name in around 20 of the 50 states. Some states recognize both Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day making it challenging to find a completely accurate number of states still celebrating.
This year in particular brings forth another issue concerning the celebration of the controversial holiday, should cities host events which would draw crowds of people- something that is strongly advised against by public health officials amidst a pandemic. Many cities have cancelled parades and other activities, even stores have held off or renamed sales to avoid large rushes and the controversy says Forbes.
President Trump adds to the disagreements surrounding the holiday, in voicing his full support of Columbus Day citing arguments similar to those ending "federal agencies diversity training programs" proclaiming "such programs 'are grounded in the same type of revisionist history that is trying to erase Christopher Columbus from our national heritage'" (AP), Mr. Trump's vocal support of the holiday may impact some peoples views on the issue, but is unlikely to end or even slow the movements to change the holiday's name and meaning.
6 comments:
In my opinion someone who was part of killing thousands of native Americans should not be celebrated. This might be a presentist view since at the time this killing might have been justified by society, however, it doesn't change the fact that it is insulting to the Indigenous people who still live in this country and now as a minority to have the person who started the dizimation of their ancestors and culture to be celebrated in a country that was originally theirs.
The president's view on this subject are also incredibly biased, since one of his favorite monuments is Mount Rushmore, a monument honoring several white presidents some of who were part in the killing of Native Americans, that was sculpted on the sacred mountains of indigenous people. There are several other places to sculpt a monument like this, the fact that it is on a sacred land for their religious is incredibly disrespectful as is celebrating someone who killed and mistreated thousands of Native Americans. The indigenous population in the United States nowadays is only 2%.
The indigenous individuals that Columbus exploited were the Taino people, natives to what is now modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In his first encounter with them, he wrote in his diary: “they should be good servants and intelligent, for [he] observed that they quickly took in what was said to them... [their] Lord being pleased, will take hence, at the time of [his] departure, six natives for [their] Highnesses that they may learn to speak.” His analysis of their potential as "servants" shows that he had bad intentions from the very beginning. According to many sources such as Howard Zinn and Bartolomé de las Casas (a primary source who witnessed Columbus' brutality), Columbus practiced sickening and extremely inhumane practices on the Taino people, often overworking them, amongst other things. Historian Andrés Reséndez states that "slavery, overwork, and famine killed more Indians in the Caribbean than smallpox, influenza, and malaria." With this information, I do not believe that Columbus should be celebrated or revered.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/10/14/here-are-indigenous-people-christ opher-columbus-his-men-could-not-annihilate/
I think the movement to redefine and reclaim “Columbus Day” as “Indigenous People’s Day” makes a powerful statement, speaking to the perseverance of a group of people that have been constantly tread upon and overlooked for the past 4 (or more) centuries. Trump claims that people are trying to “erase” Columbus from America’s “national heritage,” but he fails to see that the “orthodox” or “traditional” histories are the ones that have told the incomplete stories. I think it is fair to say that no one is trying to forget or even erase Columbus from our story of America, —in fact that would be an act of injustice itself because it would ignore the profoundly detrimental impact he had on indigenous populations. Instead, with a focus on justice and human rights that cannot reconcile glorifying or celebrating a man who stood for the genocide of others’ cultures to promote his own, this is a movement to reshape the perspective from which we view and learn about Columbus.
Personally, I am in favor of changing Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day. Considering Columbus's record toward native people, it's easy to see why so many are saying he shouldn't be honored with a national holiday. I don't feel that changing the holiday is trying to erase history or anything like that. No one is advocating for his removal from the history books, people just want his atrocities recognized and the holiday to reflect that. The AP article explains that Trump wants to focus on patriotic education He criticizes the 1619 Project because he thinks it portrays an unfair and biased look at American history, but what I think he doesn't consider is that the "patriotic education" program he favors has the same issue that he sees the 1619 Project as having, and likely to a higher degree.
I am glad that the public is gaining awareness and acting upon to successfully change "Columbus Day" to "Indengineous People Day." This power move totally made a statement favoring the public support for Native Americans as well as putting a stop to glorifying colonization and genocide. The ""Indengineous People Day" helps deliver historical content in a unbias way, portraying the truth without setting white men as the heroic figures in which they were in reality not. I believe this is just the very beginning. Trump's disagreement with the change, claiming that we are trying to "change" history is enraging because he does not consider the emotions of the individuals that were harmed. He does not see the issue with "Columbus Day" and the glorification of white supremacists because he is one himself
I am glad that the public is gaining awareness and acting upon to successfully change "Columbus Day" to "Indengineous People Day." This power move totally made a statement favoring the public support for Native Americans as well as putting a stop to glorifying colonization and genocide. The ""Indengineous People Day" helps deliver historical content in a unbias way, portraying the truth without setting white men as the heroic figures in which they were in reality not. I believe this is just the very beginning. Trump's disagreement with the change, claiming that we are trying to "change" history is enraging because he does not consider the emotions of the individuals that were harmed. He does not see the issue with "Columbus Day" and the glorification of white supremacists because he is one himself
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