Zoe Norton-Rodriguez
Traditionally we have celebrated Columbus day the second Monday of October to honor the famous explorer Christopher Columbus who was the 'first' to discover the new world. Although well known, this holiday isn't uniformly celebrated. Of the 50 states, 23 consider it a paid holiday for governmental jobs and privately owned companies decide wether or not its an official holiday. In 1992, Berkley, California was the first city to have Indigenous People's day and a few cities and states have celebrated it since. Many places don't just celebrate Columbus, it's become a sort of Italian-American celebration so many Italian Americans don't agree with the switch.
I think this is a step in the right direction. Columbus was a significant figure who shouldn't be forgotten but he did some terrible things that also can't be glossed over to make the holiday make more sense. Native Americans are one of the most underrepresented groups in all media, and many people don't realize that there are many Native communities full of real, living, breathing people who still celebrate their culture and heritage despite a rapidly modernizing world. Celebrating Columbus day as an Italian holiday is fine but perhaps they could just change the name of it to something else and still carry on their celebrations. I hope more and more cities and maybe even the government will recognize Indigenous People's Day as an official holiday and Native American's will get the recognition they deserve.
Olivia Browne (Period 6)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of celebrating native americans and their culture. History has done them a great disservice by not acknowledging their suffering.
This is a great idea! I hope people start to go along with it, because awareness needs to be raised for the plight of Native Americans throughout history and celebrate their culture now.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you all. History has failed to acknowledge the perspective of everyone in a given situation. I think this slight change could help many people recognize this in many historical events.
ReplyDeleteLauren Bush; Comment #2; 9th period
I love Indigenous People Day! This should always be a thing. Yeah, yeah, Columbus brought Europe to the New World, but he also kinda killed a large percentage of the Native American population in the process (not alone of course). I think it's way more important to celebrate the rich culture of indigenous peoples all over the world. Sorry Columbus, but you and all your white European buddies don't need your own day. -Nora Bracy 5th
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