“The Landing of Columbus” by John Vanderlyn hangs proudly in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington DC. Clad in red and gold, Columbus hoists the flag of the Spanish crown in the air, claiming the New World for himself and his Spanish companions. His fellow explorers, clutching muskets and pumping their fists towards the sky stand close by, surveying their new land. However should one look towards the far right corner of the painting, away from Columbus in all his glory, faint images of naked Indians cowering behind trees can be seen. You may be thinking, Well that sounds like an accurate depiction of what happened in 1492. However, this painting was made in June of 1863 and commissioned by Congress specifically for the Rotunda. This example is just one of many that bring into question how we portray our country’s history: Is it possible for a painting made centuries after an event to accurately represent all parties involved? This issue of glorifying American history is not unique to Columbus, even school textbooks feature explanations of how slavery was born out of necessity, and how the Civil War was not about preserving/abolishing slavery but “states’ rights” instead. Despite the issue of glorifying US history being relevant to many different topics, one does not see “Robert E. Lee Day” being celebrated as a federal holiday. Columbus Day, on the other hand, is. The holiday has recently been shrouded in controversy, with America divided on whether to continue the 1792 tradition. While groups such as Italian Americans see the day as a celebration of their culture and contribution to our country, many see the holiday as the glorification of a racist figure and disrespectful toward Native Americans. Due to his mistreatment of Native Americans and the lasting impact of his bigoted actions, Columbus Day should be abolished.
The first red flag is that Columbus Day teaches children to view American history through rose-colored glasses. Not only is this the case for white Americans in their schooling, but also the Native American children whose ancestors suffered at his hands. Megan Hill, the Native American program director of Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, explains, “In the fourth grade, I came home from school and my dad asked me what I learned. I excitedly told him Mrs. Brennan taught us, ‘In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue’” (Mineo, 2020). As a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, her family must have been shocked to hear their daughter preach about the “hero” that was Christopher Columbus. To them, Columbus was the man who murdered countless numbers of their ancestors, parading their dead bodies through the streets to discourage Indian rebellions. Hill is not alone in her experience with myopic lessons on the subject. Robert Anderson, a visiting professor of law at Harvard Law School, had this to say on the topic of Columbus: “I have taught [Native American] law for 12 years at the Harvard Law School, and many students come up to me to say, ‘We were never taught this in grade school or high school,’ or even in college in many instances” (Mineo, 2020). Anderson here refers to how students are shocked to learn about the brutality of the colonial process. Therefore, the way colonization functioned in the Americas is often not taught from the perspective of Native Americans, as the tale would be far more bloody than “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue”. The earliest colonization of the New World as taught by American schools shows the strength of Columbus and the Spaniards, but not their treatment of Native Americans. Without the context of how the Columbian exchange wiped out much of the native population with Old World diseases, or how Columbus laid the ground for slavery in the Americas, it is understandable how many Americans thought his impacts to be purely positive.
Not only is it the way that Columbus Day is taught that is concerning, but the holiday in and of itself is insulting to the five million Native Americans that live in the US. “Indigenous children are going to school and being forced to hear about and celebrate the person who set in motion the genocide of their people," says Shannon Speed, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center, "That's incredibly painful. It creates an ongoing harm” (Fadel, 2019). Columbus Day is so ingrained in American culture that we do not realize how distressing the concept is for Native Americans. It would be unimaginable for “Hitler Day '' to become an American federal holiday– one can only imagine how all Americans let alone the Jewish community would react. Why is Columbus Day the exception? Speed goes on to state, “That's not something we want to celebrate.” Adolf Hitler is not honored for comiting genocide, therefore it seems perposterous that Christopher Columbus is. Furthermore, it is not unprecedented for controversial historical figures in other countries to be condemned as opposed to honored. A statue of Cecil Rhoades was removed from the University of Capetown campus in 2015– a move fully supported by the South African government. Cecil Rhoades was a European Colonialist (much like Columbus) who laid the grounds for apartheid, and the decison to remove the statue was voted on by a white-majority university council (Wamsley, 2017). Especially given that other countries are taking active measures to protect minority groups and discourage racism, it makes it all the more painful for Native Americans to see America put their historic oppressor on a pedestal.
History is about perspective, it impacts how we tell stories today and who’s stories we tell. For Italian Americans Columbus represents their culture and contribution to our country, and Columbus Day is a celebration of that. John M. Viola, former president of the National Italian American Foundation, said in defense of statues honoring Christopher Columbus that “we believe Christopher Columbus represents the values of discovery and risk that are at the heart of the American dream” (Fadel, 2019). The word “we” speaks on behalf of the National Italian American Foundation, however it neglects to consider that for Native Americans, Christopher Columbus represents anything but the American dream. In order to preserve Italian American heritage, as well as respect Native American history, Columbus Day should be abolished and a new holiday should be constructed to honor a different Italian American figure who had a positive impact on all groups of Americans.
Works Cited
Fadel, Leila. “Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples' Day?” NPR, NPR, 14 Oct. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/10/14/769083847/columbus-day-or-indigenous-peoples-day.
Mineo, Liz. “Pondering Putting an End to Columbus Day, and a Look at What Could Follow.” Harvard Gazette, Harvard Gazette, 8 Oct. 2020, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/pondering-putting-an-end-to-columbus-day-and-a-look-at-what-could-follow/.
Olsen, Henry. “Opinion | Getting Rid of Columbus Day Entirely Is a Sad Development.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 Oct. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/14/we-could-abolish-columbus-day-we-shouldnt/.
Wamsley, Laurel. “In Reckoning with Confederate Monuments, Other Countries Could Provide Examples.” NPR, NPR, 23 Aug. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/22/545308125/in-reckoning-with-confederate-monuments-other-countries-could-provide-examples.
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