Columbus Day Vs. Indigenous Peoples' Day
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Columbus Day is observed annually on the second Monday of October. It commemorates Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas in 1492. However, this US federal holiday, which falls on October 14 this year, has often been a topic of debate. Many believe that the European settlers' mistreatment of the Native American people is not a cause for celebration.
Historians also argue that 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 named Leif Erikson established the first European settlement in Greenland around AD 980. This was nearly 500 years before Columbus and his men arrived.
Some US states, like Oregon, Iowa, and Nebraska, never celebrated Columbus Day. In 1971, Hawaii renamed it "Discoverers' Day" to honor the state's Polynesian founders. South Dakota changed it to "Native American Day" in 1990. As public awareness of the controversy grew, many US schools and universities also stopped observing the holiday.
In 1977, a delegation of Native nations at a conference focused on racial discrimination proposed renaming the holiday to "Indigenous Peoples' Day." They believed the change would help honor those who suffered due to American colonization. The resolution passed with an overwhelming majority.
The city of Berkeley in California, was the first to make the change in 1992. Santa Cruz, CA, followed shortly after, in 1994. Since then, over 100 cities and many states, including Alaska, Oregon, and California have adopted Indigenous Peoples' Day. In 2021, President Joe Biden issued the first-ever presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples' Day. It encouraged Americans to celebrate the holiday on the second Monday of October, along with Columbus Day.
But not everyone agrees that a name change is necessary. For many Italian Americans, Columbus Day is an integral part of Italian Heritage Month, observed annually in October. They assert that the holiday celebrates the Italian immigration experience rather than solely honoring Columbus. They think the name should remain or be changed to something more appropriate, like Italian Heritage Day.
Resources: Wikipedia.org, History.com, CNN.com
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14 Comments
lolimhilarious2 monthsI'm gonna be completely honest I don't celebrate Columbus day for two reasons. Number one is because I'm partially Native American and number two is that Columbus never actually stepped foot in North America. He took credit for finding land that another guy found and people believed him.
crazychristineabout 1 monthWell thats unfair
milkfanforever2 monthsHappy Columbus Day!
