Today is Columbus Day, an annual “holiday” celebrating Christopher Columbus’ “discovery” of the Americas and the ensuing genocide of an estimated 100 million native people in the centuries following his “discovery.” Columbus instituted a system of slavery and facilitated the systemic rape and murder of the Taino people during his time as “viceroy and governor” of the Caribbean and American mainland from 1493 to 1500, with an estimated 5 million Taino killed, thus opening the way for the exploitive policies that have nearly eliminated native peoples in North America. In many locations with Columbus Day events, the day is about celebrating Italian-American pride and excluding native peoples, and consequently, contributing to continued racist propaganda against native peoples.
Columbus Day continues to be a federal holiday, with most government agencies closed, despite the calls by many native peoples to end the celebration. In some cities, such as Berkley, California, the day has been renamed “Indigenous Peoples Day,” while in the state of South Dakota it was renamed “Native American Day.” In 2002, the Venezuelan government renamed the date to the “Day of Indigenous Resistance.” Locally, student groups at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) have organized a “Rethinking Columbus Day” event for the past few years.
Denver’s Transform Columbus Day Alliance, who has protested Denver’s Columbus Day parade, has an extensive collection of links documenting Columbus’ legacy of genocide and Columbus’ Days reinforcement of racist views.
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