09/10/2023
You probably grew up believing Christopher Columbus was a pioneering hero.
Also, much of everything you’ve ever been told was a lie.
Here are 25 reasons to take today to honor Indigenous People’s Day instead of Columbus Day:
1. Christopher Columbus brought the first enslaved people to Turtle Island in 1492, when he got lost and landed in what is now known as the Bahamas. They were Romani, and he left them behind to return with Taino enslaved people in their place.
2. Columbus initiated the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
3. Columbus beat and assaulted (in the worst ways) Indigenous women and girls and encouraged his men to do the same. Columbus wrote to a friend, "A hundred castellanoes are as easily obtained for a woman as for a farm, and it is very general and there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from nine to ten are now in demand."
4. Columbus cut the hands off of more than 10,000 Taino because they failed to bring him enough gold, leaving them to bleed to death. There was no gold to bring.
5. Columbus used babies as dog food.
6. There were over 20 witnesses who testified against him for these atrocities against humanity, and Columbus pled guilty.
7. Columbus didn't discover anything except that his own depravity had no borders.
8. In 14 years, Columbus reduced the Taino population from 8 million to 100,000, having directly contributed to or caused the deaths of 98.7% of their population.
9. Columbus didn't ever step foot on the soil of North America.
10. It's messed up to memorialize a genocidal trafficker with a national holiday.
11. Indigenous People’s Day gives you an opportunity to learn honest history for a change.
12. You don’t have to put your unquestioning acceptance of depravity on display or lie to anyone to come up with reasons to celebrate Indigenous people and their ancestors.
13. Propaganda is not necessary to celebrate indigenous people.
14. Your students and children will not feel disgusted and betrayed by you for celebrating indigenous people like they will when they find out who Columbus really was.
15. Everyone's lives are better when they decolonize their minds, and disenfranchising Columbus is the obvious first step.
16. Columbus caused more deaths than Hi**er.
17. Columbus ordered his brother to parade a woman around naked and cut out her tongue because she pointed out he was born a commoner.
18. Columbus wasn't even the first European here.
19. Indigenous people still exist after the ungodly and evil precedents set by Columbus, and you can use this opportunity to express your solidarity.
20. You can take a step towards healing and reconciliation by taking back this day.
21. Celebrating Indigenous People's Day gives you an opportunity to share from Indigenous people, so that people in your sphere of influence can learn about the many tribes, nations, cultures, and traditions left out of your history books.
22. You'll be building community on something other than a foundation of lies and the bones of the innocent.
23. You can set an example for people that telling the truth, even if it doesn't benefit you personally, is an expression of character. It's also wildly satisfying to take something from Columbus that he didn't earn.
24. Planning for future Indigenous People's Day celebrations will give you innumerable amazing stories of resilience, justice, courage, and honor to choose from when lesson planning and event planning.
25. You can use this time to support and showcase Indigenous creators and activists, learning from perspectives that will lend value to how you perceive and approach the planet, being in community, and caring for others.
The fact that this man was celebrated with a national holiday is a testament to how the US has valued its image of exceptionalism, even when it's demonstrably false.
It's a disservice to everyone and done for the sake of an economy that benefits from your nationalism, ignorance, and cheap labor.
Everyone deserves better.
