by Katalina Narvaez

Created on: May 06, 2008

What Honor is There in Columbus Day

How can we as human beings continue to condone the celebration of a European bent on genocidal domination? When Columbus encountered the Taino peoples of the Caribbean his own papers report that the Taino were a kind, generous and handsome people. Yet he slaughtered, enslaved and treated them with utter contempt.

As children we are taught that Christopher Columbus was a heroic founder of the Americas. Who has the authority to write off the people who were here before he arrived? For that matter, what about the Norse, shipwrecked African slaves and Polynesians who most assuredly preceded him? Is it honorable to raise such a person on a pedestal?

Let us not forget just how contemptuous many American Indians feel regarding Columbus. I consider it an affront to basic humanity to offer up even one day of celebration to this murderous, greedy fanatic. To do so is to in fact 'celebrate' the devastation and enslavement of the indigenous Taino, and the theft of their land.

Much of what is written, read and, taught in our public school system is rife with Eurocentric blather. Academic history books tell precious little of the whole truth. To shield our children from the entire truth is to ignore the depredations exacted upon the original people of the land he encountered. History does tend to repeat itself; especially when one is left ignorant.

Why is it that this country celebrates a man who decimated a people and purportedly 'founded' a land that was already inhabited by hundreds of thousands? Why is it that 'we' cannot find it within ourselves to correct this omission and teach our children the truth? Is it so that we can get a good deal on furniture, autos or other sundry items? Or is it to perpetuate the myth that Euro centrism is dead?

Perhaps instead of celebrating 'Columbus Day'; we could come together and embrace 'All Peoples Day'. Over 500 years later let us celebrate a day of sharing cultures and healing wounds that have never fully closed. I often wonder what this land would've been like had our predecessors behaved with humanity. A land of truly shared cultures could have been their legacy.

We can't go back and erase the atrocities committed by Columbus and others after him. But we can move forward, learn from the past, and create a new tomorrow for those who will be here after us. There is no honor in celebrating anyone who perpetuates the genocide of a people. The honor lies in not ignoring the truth and making certain it never happens again.

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