Columbus Day

Columbus Day is a holiday celebrated in many countries in the Americas, commemorating the date of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Similar holidays, celebrated as Día de la Raza in many countries in Latin America, Discovery Day in the Bahamas, Hispanic Day in Spain, and Día de la Resistencia Indígena in Venezuela, commemorate the same event.

Opposition

Some people, particularly Native Americans, find the holiday offensive because they object to honoring a person who they see as opening the door to European colonization, the exploitation of native peoples and the slave trade. In the United States, this has caused a persistent controversy between Native Americans and Italian-Americans. Some communities, such as Berkeley, California have renamed the holiday to "Indigenous Peoples Day". In 2002, the Venezuelan government renamed the holiday to Día de la Resistencia Indigena ("Day of Indigenous Resistance"). In 2004, Venezuelan activists toppled a statue of Columbus in Caracas on the day of the celebration.

Related Topics:
Native American - Colonization - Italian-American - Berkeley, California - Indigenous Peoples Day - Día de la Resistencia Indigena

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Some have argued that the responsibility of contemporary governments and their citizens for allegedly ongoing acts of genocide against Native Americans are masked by positive Columbus myths and celebrations. These critics argue that a particular understanding of the legacy of Columbus has been used to legitimize their actions, and it is this misuse of history that must be exposed. Thus, Ward Churchill (the controversial professor of Ethnic Studies at University of Colorado at Boulder, and a leader of the American Indian Movement), has argued that:

Related Topics:
Genocide - Ward Churchill - University of Colorado - Boulder - American Indian Movement

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:Very high on the list of those expressions of non-indigenous sensibility which contribute to the perpetuation of genocidal policies against Indians are the annual Columbus Day celebration, events in which it is baldly asserted that the process, events, and circumstances described above are, at best, either acceptable or unimportant. More often, the sentiments expressed by the participants are, quite frankly, that the fate of Native America embodied in Columbus and the Columbian legacy is a matter to be openly and enthusiastically applauded as an unrivaled "boon to all mankind". Undeniably, the situation of American Indians will not — in fact cannot — change for the better so long as such attitudes are deemed socially acceptable by the mainstream populace. Hence, such celebrations as Columbus Day must be stopped. (in "Bringing the Law Back Home")

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The claim made here is that certain myths about Columbus, and celebrations of Columbus, make it easier for people today to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions, or the actions of their governments.

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The archaeological discoveries at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland and other evidence for Vikings in the New World centuries before Columbus have promoted celebrations of Leif Erikson Day, sometimes as an alternative to Columbus Day, sometimes in addition to it. Leif Erikson and his longship crew are thought to have sailed to the coast of North America around the year 1000.

Related Topics:
Archaeological - L'Anse aux Meadows - Newfoundland - Viking - Leif Erikson Day - Leif Erikson - Longship - 1000

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