Forget about Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day. Happy Indigenous Peoples Day 2023!
Current Events
Today is a national holiday, but not the one you think. Originally, today was set aside to honor a thief — Christopher Columbus. However, we recommend that today and on this day every year, people exclusively celebrate and recognize today as INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY!
For centuries we’ve been told Christopher Columbus “discovered” America. He didn’t. He STOLE America since it was already inhabited by its Indigenous Peoples. Oh, and then he enslaved the very people he robbed!
When he first arrived, the Indigenous Peoples (in what would later be called America) were warm and welcoming toward him. Recognizing he could use their politeness to his advantage, he went back to Spain and gathered an army. He then returned to the new land, beat and killed the men, raped the women, and then TOOK America.
No matter how you slice it, stealing something that already belongs to someone else is NOT “discovering” it.
Each year, more and more US cities are choosing to recognize Native Americans rather than Christopher Columbus on this day. However, the Italian-American community is not necessarily thrilled with reimagining their hero’s holiday.
Although Columbus Day is a painful reminder of the oppression endured by native peoples, some are saying the holiday is an important part of Italian-American heritage and for that reason, it is worth keeping.
“It serves as a unifying factor in our community,” said Basil M. Russo, the national president of the Order Italian Sons and Daughters of America. “Columbus Day is not a day that’s set aside to honor an individual, but rather is a day that’s set aside to recognize and honor a monumental historic event that began the process of over 500 years of worldwide immigration to America by oppressed people seeking a better life for their families,” he added.
“The ‘tearing down of history’ does not change that history,” John M. Viola, former president and chief operating officer of the National Italian American Foundation said. “In the wake of the cultural conflict that has ripped us apart over these months, I wonder if we as a country can’t find better ways to utilize our history to eradicate racism instead of inciting it.
“We believe Christopher Columbus represents the values of discovery and risk that are at the heart of the American dream,” Viola continued, “and that it is our job as the community most closely associated with his legacy to be at the forefront of a sensitive and engaging path forward, toward a solution that considers all sides.”
In reality, today is not a day of celebration of the discovery of America. Nor is it the celebration of the history of Italian-Americans. Instead, it is a day that was erroneously set aside to celebrate a thief who stumbled upon land that was already inhabited.
So, let’s celebrate the original and Indigenous Peoples of America. Let’s even celebrate Italian-Americans and other immigrants who made their way to the “new land.” However, it’s time to forget all about Columbus. This is not his holiday and there is nothing to celebrate in his name.
I like this a lot.