Should Columbus Day Be Changed?

The federal holiday of Columbus Day has always been a day to celebrate the journeys of Christopher Columbus and his navigation which mistakenly, “discovered”, the Americas. It is a Monday off from work or school that many Americans look forward to. Over the course of the past few years, this holiday has become a controversial subject. The question that many Americans are debating over currently, is, should Christopher Columbus be celebrated? Although the Genoan- sent on his travels by Italian royalty- is thanked today for discovering North and South America, Columbus did participate in the ravaging of supplies and accidental murdering (through disease), of millions of indigenous people. While it is important to remember the basis that anything is founded on, it is also important to remember that even though really great things may come from something, its beginning is sometimes rough and may not be as glorified as it is made out to be. Christopher Columbus was an Italian man from Genoa, who was given ships and supplies by the royalty of Spain to attempt to find a new sailing route to India. Columbus went the opposite route that navigators usually take to get to India, and decided to test a theory that the earth may be a globe. When he touched land for the first time, which was modern-day Bahamas, he immediately assumed he had found India. Christopher and his crews decided to take advantage of the hospitable nature of the native Bahamians and take them as slaves, and convert them to Christianity. What he did not know is that he and his sailing crew, as Europeans, carried many diseases that these people were not exposed to. As a result, after meeting Columbus, millions of native’s died from transported diseases from Europe. Many people today look back into the history of Columbus and his travels, and seriously consider if he was doing a good thing for the good of America. As an article by The Philadelphia Inquirer states, “Columbus Day idealizes a murderer who got lost during his expedition and minimizes the negative effects of colonialism on America’s Indigenous peoples” (Norwood 1). While it is true that Columbus Day celebrates Christopher Columbus who did murder many people, it is also important to remember that this behavior was not shunned in his time. His journey did begin “two greatest crimes in the history of the Americas: the transatlantic slave trade, and the genocide of Indigenous peoples” (Norwood 1), which were responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent people. Columbus had the intention of finding India in the first place, but did end up starting a mass genocide in a new world he “discovered” for the Europeans. Many people argue that Columbus day should be celebrated due to the fact that Columbus found our country and is the reason that we have the U.S.A., but an interesting fact to remember is that “Columbus never stepped foot in what is now the continental United States, so he is not part of any North American heritage” (Norwood 1). It is an argument to use the fact that Columbus discovered North America, but Columbus actually never stepped foot on what is now American soil. While there are many reasons why Columbus did much harm, there are also a few reasons why it is important to celebrate such a controversial figure. Remarkably, “Columbus possessed admirable qualities, of which all Americans can be proud. Even by his detractors, he is seen as a skilled sea captain of the highest order. He challenged the conventional thought that the Earth was flat, seeking to “reach the east by going west,” an idea to which the scientists of the day were forcibly opposed” (The Denver Post 1). Columbus did successfully traverse a new way of navigation, which no European had ever done before. This is a task that should be celebrated because it can be terrifying to try something new, no matter what it is. Columbus took a big risk, and although he did not reach his goal, he found new land, which is good for the Europeans. Another achievement that is brought up in the discussion of whether Columbus is a good example of Italian-American heritage, is that “Columbus discovered the American continental coast and recorded the voyage in a way that enabled others to repeat the feat” (The Denver Post 1). Columbus did execute a path to a completely new land, and cleared the way for other navigators to dig more into the journey he began. He discovered American lands, and was able to record all of his travels to enable other travellers to take his route. While there are many different opinions and reasons on why or why not Columbus Day should be celebrated, or turned into Indigenous People’s day, it is very important for people to hear both sides of the discussion. Personally, I believe that this holiday should be celebrated as Indigenous People’s Day. The astronomical numbers of Indigenous people who were murdered at the sense of Columbus’s unknowingness is absolutely terrible. The genocide of natives is not something that should be taken lightly. A day to celebrate Indigenous culture and history would be important for people to realize what was taken from native people who were innocent. Both sides of any argument are important to hear and take note of. In this argument though, I stand with the idea of renaming Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day, to take power away from the murderer and bring power and justice to what was taken away from people so many years ago, with long lasting effects.