With October 14th marking both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day, Americans are still continuing the ongoing debate of which holiday is more important and meaningful. Since both of these holidays fall on the same day, people tend to believe that it’s either one or the other.
A pattern that I’ve noticed is how people continuously call Indigenous Peoples day “stupid,” “unneeded,” and “a waste of time.” While everyone has the right to their own opinion, calling a holiday such things isn’t necessary or considerate.
While Columbus Day is a federal holiday in the United States, Indigenous Peoples Day has sentimental value to the oppressed. People continue to fully admire Christopher Columbus while being uninformed, and continue to bring down the Indigenous community in the process. The way people put the community down is quite ironic, considering Columbus led to the harmful colonization of North America and the erasure of Indigenous culture.
To elaborate, Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator who was said to “discover” the Americas. Since this period of discovery was over 500 years ago, it’s most likely going to be misinterpreted by historians. When looking for a direct water route from Europe to Asia, he discovered the Americas, where he and his men hunted for gold.
Unfortunately, he found nothing of value. Determined to bring back something profitable, he and his men began to enslave the inhabitants of the West Indies. The lack of contact with the outside world led the tribes to catch illnesses like measles, smallpox, typhus, and more. According to Britannica.com, on the sail to Spain, 200 out of 550 Arawak people died, while 200 of the 500 Taino people also died. Their bodies were later discarded and thrown into the sea. The rest of the enslaved Indigenous people died in the Spanish slave market.
To some, Indigenous Peoples Day may seem like a hollow cover up for the actions of the (now) Americans, and that’s entirely true. While it may be a cover up, it allows the Indigenous people to have a day of their own to celebrate and to feel seen. A common way to celebrate this holiday is going to a powwow, as they have dancing and shops that tie into Indigenous culture.
While all of this has happened in the past, both groups of people should be considered.
Mark Ledgerwood, one of Emerson’s history teachers, states: “Depending upon your perspective, heritage, and ethnicity, you might feel that one is more important than the other. For instance, many Italian-Americans take great pride in the accomplishments of Christopher Columbus while Indigenous peoples feel that their culture was never the same after the arrival of the Europeans in the New World.”
Instead of attacking people for celebrating both holidays, everyone should be considered. Italians should be able to take pride in the fact that someone of their heritage paved the way for more exploration of the Americas, while Indigenous people should be able to celebrate their holiday without getting called “stupid” for wanting representation. World exploration is a great accomplishment, and the journey of Columbus should be remembered and known as the “most successful mistake in history.”
