Columbus Day Or Indigenous Peoples' Day? The Debate Continues
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Columbus Day, which honors the Italian explorer's October 12, 1492, arrival to the Americas, has been a US federal holiday since 1971. However, the holiday, marked annually on the second Monday of October (October 10th this year), has always been controversial. Many believe that the European settlers' mistreatment of the Native American people is not a cause for celebration.
Historians also argue that Christopher Columbus did not "discover" the continent. The indigenous people had been living in the Americas long before his arrival. He was also not the first European to set foot in North America. A Norse explorer by the name of Leif Erikson set up the first European settlement in Greenland in AD 980 — nearly 500 years before Columbus's arrival.
Some US states, like Oregon, Iowa, and Nebraska, have never recognized Columbus Day. Hawaii renamed it "Discoverers' Day" — in honor of the state's Polynesian founders — in 1971, while South Dakota changed it to "Native American Day" in 1990. As public awareness of the controversy increased, many US schools and universities stopped observing the holiday.
In 1977, a delegation of Native nations — at the International NGO Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas — proposed renaming the holiday to "Indigenous Peoples' Day." They believed the change would help honor the victims of American colonization. The resolution passed with an overwhelming majority.
Berkeley, CA, was the first city to make the change in 1992. Santa Cruz, CA, followed shortly after in 1994. The idea really began to gain momentum after 2014. That year, Minneapolis, MN, Grand Rapids, MN, and Seattle, WA, renamed Columbus Day "Indigenous Peoples' Day." Since then, over 100 cities and entire states, including Alaska and Oregon, have adopted Indigenous Peoples' Day.
In 2020, Colorado replaced Columbus Day with Cabrini Day in honor of Frances Xavier Cabrini. The Italian-American Roman Catholic nun helped establish over 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages, in the United States and South and Central America. In 2021, President Joe Biden became the first sitting US president to issue a presidential proclamation marking Indigenous Peoples' Day. It encouraged Americans to celebrate the holiday on the second Monday in October, along with Columbus Day.
But not everyone thinks a name change is necessary. For Italian Americans, Columbus Day is the centerpiece of Italian Heritage Month, celebrated every October. They argue that the holiday honors the history of immigration, not the explorer. Therefore, they believe the name should be retained or changed to something more appropriate, like Italian Heritage Day.
Resources: History.com, Wikipedia.org, CNN.com, Interchange.com
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83 Comments
- everettbeansalmost 2 yearsThe indiguos people were already there
- wajurilymakoalmost 2 yearsColumbus came and killed a bunch a Native Americans we should celebrate the native americans
- dogecoinealmost 2 yearsThat's history. You can't compare a guy in the 15th century to modern standards. The purpose of Columbus' voyage was not to kill natives. He was also a symbol of hope for many Europeans and gave their sons and grandsons a chance to start a better life in the New World.
- giovanni123almost 2 yearsI agree with the person below me that says it should be voted on by each state.
- 5h1v3rabout 2 yearsHonestly I feel as if it should be voted on by each state, And whatever the outcome it is it shouldnt matter.
- aosgoodabout 2 yearsI live in Illinois and it should be called indigenous peoples day.
- nrosgoodalmost 2 yearsI strongly agree because I am your sister.
- pukajyku-166506793186about 2 yearsNo we are not calling it Colombus day. Indidues peoples day is much better.
- nrosgoodalmost 2 yearsAgreed.
- trickyhacker33about 2 yearsHe didn't even step on North america . . . Just and opinion, but i don't get why we used to fawn over colombus so much about him "discovering"(more like torturing and looting and stealing.☹)
- nrosgoodalmost 2 yearsYour right
- ghostedabout 2 yearsI say indigenous day bc Columbus made the natives suffer so much it should of been indigenous day long before this
- vanessa5about 2 yearsColumbus was terrible to the Natives. Discovery Day or Native Americans Day should be the name
- sjlafevabout 2 yearsHonestly, I think that we should just celebrate both. (It would be nice to have two days off instead of one too)
- nrosgoodalmost 2 yearsI think people should celebrate either they chose, but I think we should celebrate Indigenous peoples day. I believe this because Columbus never stepped on America, plus he harmed the native people and took them captive then made them work as slaves against their will. Honestly, I would hate that.( so would everybody I know)