Indigenous Peoples Day Vs Columbus Day Essay

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Vs. Columbus Day

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. This is a simple fact displayed to people across America as an honor to the Italian explorer who supposedly discovered the Americas. Today, we celebrate Christopher Columbus Day on October 9th. But what does the holiday really represent? And how much do we really know about this explorer? The truth is devastating and puts a damper on the celebration of the holiday. Christopher Columbus Day should be replaced with Indigenous Peoples’ Day because the holiday represents the violent colonization of the Americas, Columbus does not deserve the credit, and by keeping the holiday, we are supporting the wrongful appropriation of Indigenous Peoples.

To start, Christopher

An article published by CNN in October of 2022 stated that, "Indigenous Peoples' Day serves as a reminder of the diversity and depth of Native peoples, and how hard we've had to work for recognition and visibility." (Kaur) Indigenous peoples day has a much greater meaning to many more people than Columbus day and serves a greater purpose in honoring historical groups and figures. An article originally published by the Los Angeles Times in 2016 stated that, “Columbus represents the violent colonization of the Americas, they say, so in this war of symbolism Columbus Day must die so Indigenous Peoples Day can live.” (The Times Editorial Board) Among the wrongful messages of Columbus day, we can see that the two holidays cannot coexist and that only one truly deserves to be honored and celebrated throughout the country. Indigenous peoples day is a better representation for the people in our country today and a way to honor the culture and people that were destroyed so many years

There is still a large group of people who would like to continue honoring Columbus Day because they believe it has important symbolism in honoring the discovery of our country and the beginnings of a new nation. Although this sounds like a good reason, it is not true. We can learn from a Times Editorial that, “It [Columbus Day] wasn’t created to celebrate colonial domination at all, but was designated as a federal holiday in 1934 . . . by Italian Americans and Catholics, who were the targets of ethnic and religious discrimination, to help establish their place in U.S. history.” (The Times Editorial Board) As we can see in this quote, the holiday was used to establish immigrants’ position in society. They were being discriminated against by other European groups in the Americas and needed a reason to be appreciated. Presenting the idea that an Italian explorer found the land they now called home was enough for the Italians and Catholics to be honored for their heritage and assimilated into society. Today, however, the Italian and Catholic groups are widely accepted groups of people and have no reason to preach signs of their equality to