“A lot of people say we got mixed”, he said. A few banks continue to remain open, a few banks are on holiday. Native American groups and others are continuing their push to change “Columbus Day” to “Indigenous Peoples’ Day”.
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1892: President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation encouraging Americans to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage with patriotic festivities.
“In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue!” Was he a ideal man, no, but who is? “I’m so happy he was not English because there are so many things that I apologize for that my ancestors did, including the subsequent invasion of this country and the genocide that happened”.
Lost or not, he immediately captured a few of the natives he met, writing of the “seven [natives] which I have ordered to be taken and carried to Spain”, and further musing that “I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased”. Christopher Columbus “discovered America in the person &as referred to objections from historians and the continent&s natives in the state increased in recent years”. The millions who came here brought with them a distinct strength of character, tremendous self-reliance, respect for not only themselves but for others, faith in God, devotion to family, and love of life.
Even the blissfully ignorant shopaholics who don’t care about what Columbus Day really celebrates can’t even receive discounts on the true day of “celebration”.
She said that from a historical standpoint, Columbus’ discovery of the Western world is too big a deal to be cast aside by anyone.
“Now, from his base on Haiti, Columbus sent expedition after expedition into the interior”, Howard Zinn wrote in his groundbreaking history text, “A People’s History of the United States”.
Today, we have no such identity crisis and don’t need this holiday to remind us of our origins. Others go shopping and take advantage of Columbus Day discounts and sales. Absolutely. But it’s kind of disrespectful to the land’s indigenous people to claim Columbus “discovered” it. A few scientists estimate the indigenous people in the Americas arrived at least 12,000 years ago. Europeans also brought with them many diseases to which the native population never had been exposed and to which they had no immunity, such as smallpox and measles.
The Odawa Native Friendship Centre held an “Indigenous Resistance Day” on Saturday, with a potluck, film screenings, music, and discussions. Rarely do we see social studies curricula spend much time on the fascinating exploits of the Olmec, the mound-building practices of Poverty Point culture, or intricate trade routes of the Caribbean Arawak.
Positive steps are already being made in that direction.
Six out of nine Albuquerque city councilors signed a proclamation last week that makes every second Monday in October “Indigenous Peoples” Day’.
Downplaying Columbus has become trendy in city and state government as new attention is being paid to their Native Peoples who were in North America before the arrival of Spanish conquerors in the late 15th Century.
Of course, not everyone would be pleased.
“It’s very important for everyone to know our history and everything that has gone on with us”, said performer Valerie Rivera. In 2010, the United Nations acknowledged the suffering and lost land and resources of Native people, according to a city statement.
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Martin Nigrelle, president of the board of directors of Casa Italiana, a Seattle Italian culture organization, said the Italian community has no plans to protest the celebrations this year.
