The Long Struggle to Abolish Columbus Day
Long live Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Every year, on the second Monday of October, folks go through the same motions. On one side, there’s a chorus of those who celebrate a certain murderous Renaissance explorer who inadvertently navigated to the Caribbean and led his people to rape and pillage the island natives. (This includes businesses that close up shop in commemoration.) On the other side, there’s another group of voices (especially on social media) that counter with one of Jay-Z’s most quotable lines: “Only Christopher we acknowledge is Wallace.”
Christopher Columbus’ legacy annually causes a stir, but people have been opposed to the unwarranted hero worship long before Twitter. In “Canceling Columbus,” Jenni Monet traces the history of the push for Columbus Day to be erased nationwide—and for Indigenous Peoples’ Day to stand in its place—that dates back more than 40 years.
Monet writes, “For many organizations across Indian Country, it has become a day to educate others about Indigenous issues — causes like climate change that have always concerned Native peoples, but only now seem to be taken seriously in the wider worldview.”
