Quest to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day sails ahead
Summary: Multiple communities around the United States have been taking measures to change the name of the holiday that is on the second Monday in October, traditionally called Columbus Day, to Indigenous Peoples Day. This push is due to a change in the public view of the Italian explorers role in the discovery of America. People are seeing Columbus as more of a antagonist who stumbled upon America and then proceeded to villainize and kill the native people who were already settled there. People in other countries like Spain, where Columbus is a highly respected figure, are rethinking their view of this controversial man.
Analysis: I think that this a great step for all people. I have long since had a problem with the way we glorify historical figures like Columbus. History is written by the "winners" and, since many indigenous people died to the Columbian Exchange, I would say Columbus was definitely the winner in this situation. Recognizing the humanity and nobility of indigenous peoples is a step in the right direction. You can connect this to the Columbian Exchange the the European exploration of the Americas.
This is so awesome. The indigenous peoples deserve this respect/acknowledgement of the drastic changes that Columbus brought over from the Old World.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see that this issue is getting more and more attention and hopefully enough people become informed so that we do make the change to Indigenous Peoples Day.
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