Rodriguez 1

Aylin Rodriguez

AP English Period 1

Ms. Angulo

8 December 2016

Columbus Day: Should it be renamed into Indigenous Peoples Day

How would you react if you were told that your elementary school teachers lied to you

about Christopher Columbus and Thanksgiving? What if I told you Columbus Day is a

celebration of genocide of the Native American people? Columbus Day is celebrated every year

in October, honoring Christopher Columbus for his exploration and arrival to the Americas. The

federal holiday is celebrated across the United States and even in countries like Italy. But many

people are starting not to celebrate the holiday anymore. In fact there are been very controversial

issues and debates whether to still celebrate the holiday. What is the issue with Columbus Day?

When upon discovering the Americas, what Columbus discovered was Indigenous people or

Native Americans, but he didnt like the way the natives lived. He didn't like they way they were

dressed and how they talked. He didnt like the way they functioned in society. He didn't like the

Native Americans at all. So what did Columbus did? Columbus used many forms of

mistreatments towards the Indigenous people. Millions of Native Americans died, were enslaved

and many lost their land and property. It was an act of genocide, where Columbus forcefully

colonized the Native Americans. Yet people still celebrate Columbus Day. And many other

people are angered about the fact that a holiday celebrates a day of injustice, racism,

enslavement, and mistreatment towards the Indigenous people. Many people, especially the

younger generation have started a movement to change Columbus Day into Indigenous People's
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Day. This act has angered many in the United States, because they believe that Christopher

Columbus should honorably be celebrated. Across the United States, Christopher Columbus is

considered a hero but imagine this: imagine you are walking around a village of Native

American people. They are at peace, and doing their everyday chores. They seem happy and

content with each other. Children are running around playing with each other, mothers are caring

for their babies and fathers beam with pride at their family. An old man is telling stories to little

children. Then the scene changes. All of a sudden you see, white men barging in the peaceful

village and start attacking the Native people. You see a white man. You see white men destroying

the village, killing or enslaving innocents lives. In the middle of all this genocide, you wish this

is a dream. But it isnt. Although Columbus Day is a celebration of Italian heritage and

exploration, it should be renamed to Indigenous Peoples Day because the day is an actually

celebration of genocide against the Native Americans because of Christopher Columbus actions;

enslavement, colonization, and discrimination.

Believe it or not, there are many people who oppose the idea of renaming or abandoning

Columbus Day. Many people, especially among white, argue that Columbus Day is a tradition

like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or the Fourth of July. Donald A. Alessi , who believes that we

should not stop celebrating Columbus Day, states that, for many years, Italian- Americans have

adopted Columbus Day as a time to celebrate the rich traditions of their Italian heritage and the

enormous accomplishments of Italian People, (Another Voice: We should not stop celebrating

Columbus Day). Christopher Columbus was Italian and Italy celebrates the holiday. Italians

are very proud of their heritage and are very happy that one of their own did something great.

Italians feel a sense of pride and it is part of their heritage and accomplishments. Alessi also

argues that not celebrating Columbus Day is very hypocritical because of past shameful events.
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For example, people still celebrate church holy days despite the fact many died during the

Inquisition era. And people still celebrate the Fourth of July despite the fact that American

soldiers massacared Native Americans and also took away their land (Alessi). So if people stop

celebrating Columbus Day, they should also stop celebrating church holy days and the Fourth of

July because these holidays are basically a celebration of innocent lives being murdered.

Although what Alessi states is true, Columbus Day should not be celebrated because of what

Columbus caused to millions of Native Americans.

Why celebrate Columbus Day if it's just a day where it's very unknown to many people that

Christopher Columbus did not discover America, also known as the United States, but the United

States still celebrates Columbus Day. Eric Kasum of Huffington Post states, After all, the

Native Americans discovered North America about 14,000 years before Columbus was even

born! Surprisingly, DNA evidence now suggests that courageous Polynesian adventurers sailed

dugout canoes across the Pacific and settled in South America long before the Vikings,

( Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery). Why celebrate Columbus Day if

Columbus didnt even discover America, but the Native Americans did. Columbus is not a hero,

but a fraud. He is taking full credit of what others have already have accomplished. Kasum also

states, that why celebrate a man that enslaved the Native Americans, especially women for sex

trade? When slavery is talk about, everyone ignores it and just state that it happened in the past.

But unfortunately, slavery did happened towards the Native Americans.

When celebrating Columbus Day it is a day of racism and colonization which should not

be celebrated. When upon meeting the Native Americans, there were many differences that

Columbus viewed as inappropriate, they all go naked, men and women, as the day they were

born, (The Log of Christopher Columbus). And the only way to change how the native people
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lived was to colonize them. The term colonization is defined as a process by which a central

system of power dominates the surrounding land and its components according to

Dictionary.com, which what Columbus did. Physically naked, the Indians are also, to

Columbuss eyes, deprived of all cultural property; they are characterized, in a sense, by the

absence of customs, rites, religion, ( Todorov). The term colonization is used to describe what

Columbus did to the Native Americans. During his voyage, Columbus kept a journal of his daily

accounts. In his accounts, there were evidence that Columbus didnt appreciate the Native

Americans. He didnt like the way they lived. On many accounts, Columbus would state that the

Indian had no manners, and would always go naked all day, he would also state that the Indians

had no proper religion. The religion concerned Columbus and he planned to change that, Your

highness may have great joy of them, for soon you will have made them into Christians and will

have instructed them in the good manners of your kingdom, (Columbus). Columbus wanted to

the Native Americans to adopt to Spanish customs. He wanted to change how the Native

Americans lived,he wanted them to become Christians even though that was not their religion.

So why celebrate a day where Native Americans were demanded to change their customs, their

traditions and their souls. Yet Columbus Day is still celebrated with many people not knowing

the truth and history behind it. What if you were forced to change the way you lived?

Many young activists around the world have pushed for Columbus Day to be renamed and

recognized as Indigenous Peoples Day because of the history behind it. Although Indigenous

Peoples Day is not a national holiday in the United States, many cities are renaming Columbus

Day into Indigenous People's Day. Writer Stephanie Toone states that the supporters of

Indigenous People Day say parades and other forms of commemoration for Columbus Day

disregard the bloody history of colonialism, enslavement, land takeovers and discrimination that
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ensued following Columbus Arrival to the Americas in 1492, ( Indigenous Peoples Day or

Columbus Day). For the Native Americans, having Indigenous Peoples Day as a day of

celebration for the Native people is very special to them but to have a day that recognizes a man

who committed a genocide is unjust. Although Columbus Day is legally a holiday, many cities in

the United States like Albuquerque, Portland and Minneapolis, have changed the holiday into

Indigenous People's Day. Toone states that, last year, the Seattle City Council unanimously

voted to change the federal Columbus Day holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day, making the

second U.S. city after Minneapolis to adopt the change, (Indigenous Peoples Day or Columbus

Day). Many cities are are already abandoning Columbus Day and celebrating Indigenous

Peoples Day. More and more cities will probably follow the example and also change the

holiday. Nick Estes of Albuquerque believes the change is the start of something great that will

eventually become visible to many other cities. If cities are making the change, then maybe just

maybe the United States government will rename Columbus Day into Indigenous People's Day

and make it a national holiday across the country.

Although Columbus Day is a federal holiday and it is still celebrated in the United States by

many people, the holiday needs to be renamed into Indigenous People's Day. But why? Why

should Columbus Day be renamed? Because of what Christopher Columbus did. Columbus

enslaved and murdered Native Americans. He took away their land, their property, their homes,

their souls. He changed the way they lived, he colonized the Native Americans. In todays

society, Native Americans are still being ignored and not spoken of. Celebrating Indigenous

Peoples Day can help change that, because the day is a celebration of Native American history

and culture. But in reality Native Americans are still being mistreated and their lands are being

violated by brainwashed people who grew up into believing what white authors wrote in their
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school textbooks. As actress Shailene Woodley, who has been protesting on the North Dakota

Pipeline, once said, Just watch my Facebook livestream and decide for yourself who looks more

dangerous: police in riot gear with batons, or native grandmothers and children smudging sage

and singing songs. It is time for the government to act now and change the federal holiday to

Indigenous Day. It is time for children to learn about the truth of Thanksgiving. It is time that

Native Americans are appreciated and respected as they should have been since the beginning. It

is time for people to accept what happened and to acknowledge it. It is time for immediate

change. If many cities and people across the United States are making the change, why cant

you?

Works Cited

Alessi, Donald A. "Another Voice: We should not stop celebrating Columbus Day." Buffalo
News. 10 Oct. 2016: A12. eLibrary. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.
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Columbus, Christopher, and Robert Henderson. Fuson. The Log of Christopher Columbus.
Camden, Me.: International Marine Pub., 1987. Print.

Toone, Stephanie. "Indigenous Peoples Day or Columbus Day?." American City & County. 14
Oct. 2015 eLibrary. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.

Todorov, Tzvetan. The Conquest of America: The Question of the other. New York: Harper
and Row, 1984.Print

"Shailene Woodley: The Truth About My Arrest." Time. Time, a.n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.

Kasum, Eric. "Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.