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I love holidays, especially if it means a day off from work or school. However, some holidays don’t deserve all the fanfare and celebration. Columbus Day is one of them. I still remember sitting in a classroom in a child singing that old Christopher Columbus tune of “how he sailed the ocean blue.” I even remember how the textbooks hailed him as a hero and adventurer. The reality of history is much, much darker.
For those that are a little foggy on history, here’s a bit of a recap. Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer that sailed across the ocean way back in 1492. He originally set out to find a western route to the Indies. Instead, he mistook America for Asia, hence the Native Americans were dubbed “Indians.” He really missed the mark there. From there, a bloody history of colonization and slave trade took place. But hey, slap on a day off and some decent sales and no one bats an eye. That totally justifies mass murder and cruelty.
Ironically, a handful of people still regard Columbus as a hero to the indigenous people.
https://twitter.com/LeahRBoss/status/917373387617587200
https://twitter.com/brianmcarey/status/917382917860544512
Let me take a sip of my tea while I read some of these tweets. While I can appreciate a joke in all good fun, I can’t say that saying Christopher Columbus was faultless is being funny. Or even historically accurate for that matter. Lucky for us, for as many people rallying in support of the holiday, a hundred more are quick to clap back.
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/917366251646869504
Happy Monday to everyone except Christopher Columbus, who is most likely attempting to colonize hell and whose legacy deserves nothing.
— Louis Baragona (@lounicorn_) October 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/EdKrassen/status/917366414058639360
Ah yes, #ColumbusDay, the day white Americans celebrate the slaughter of Natives under the guise of good ol' Patriotism. Wonderful.
— Natalie (@ATRadioInMyHead) October 9, 2017
The night is still young. There’s still plenty of time for Twitter to continue its holiday wars. In attempts to rectify the problem, some areas chose to rename the holiday. Los Angeles recently redubbed Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in order to commemorate Native Americans as opposed to the controversial explorer. According to AOL, Minnesota, Alaska and Vermont celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day over Columbus Day. Some big cities that also renamed the holiday are Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, Phoenix and Austin, Texas. South Dakota simply celebrates Native American Day on September 22.
Rather than focus on pointing fingers, many Indigenous people and their supporters are rallying together to keep the culture alive. The photos users post on twitter are absolutely beautiful and moving.
https://twitter.com/PhatIcon/status/917367748463874049
Crowds celebrating #IndigenousPeoplesDay in Los Angeles after the city/county's recent votes to change it from Columbus Day @KTLA pic.twitter.com/F2ZE8uTkYm
— Chris Gierowski (@tepall14) October 8, 2017
https://twitter.com/mefeater/status/917424353268125696
This is a proper way to pay respects to the Native Americans of the past and the present. While it’s important to stay aware of the horrors of the past, it is also important to keep a dying culture alive; especially if that culture comes from America’s roots.
