If you are unable to access youtube, watch the PSA for Reconsider Columbus Day here.
As much as we all enjoy a three day weekend, it's important to have an understanding of exactly what you are celebrating. Here in the United States, Columbus Day is a holiday which was created to honor an Italian explorer credited with discovering America and claiming it for Spain. (It is important to note, however, that there were people already living here and there is strong evidence that the vikings had explored the area 500 years earlier.) Several states in the U.S. do not observe the holiday, most notably Hawaii and South Dakota who have designated the same Monday as an observance for native peoples.
Throughout much of Latin America, October 12th is known as Día de la Raza or Día de la Hispanidad. The date still refers to the day Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas, but the focus is less about honoring the man and more about recognizing the Spanish influence on the Americas. The holiday is widely controversial throughout Latin America and is considered by many to support a Eurocentric view of history which does not reflect the indigenous experience.
What do you think? Should the United States continue to uphold Columbus Day? Do you think it seems appropriate to give Native Americans their own national holiday? What is the image you have of Christopher Columbus based on what you have been taught in school?
I think that we should honor his discovery but not his actions. We also learned about this in humanities and he would torture the Indians and commit acts of genocide. He would also not compromise with them and then he attacked with muskets while they fought with bows and arrows. He also changed our culture and founded our country so he should get some credit for that. He was also brave when he sailed into sea not knowing where he was going.
ReplyDeleteJake O. 704
My thoughts were that Christopher Columbus had discovered America, but I never thought it was to be claimed for Spain, especially if the Natives Americans were already there. I also thought that Columbus Day especially here in New York was day to celebrate Italian Pride. I agree that the Native American people should be given a holiday, they were after all the first people to settle in the New World and free. My image of Christopher Columbus based on what I have been taught in school was an explorer that made it a point to show the Queen of Spain and the non believers that world was indeed round.
ReplyDeleteEvan D. Class 801
I think that it was a very brave thing to do at the time, sail the unknown ocean to a new world. For that, Christopher Columbus should be honored and also for founding our world (discovering the new world), but the day that is dedicated to him should be thought of as a day of respect for discovering and sailing the ocean, not for the genicide he committed and the murder and the extinction of the native tribes. To tell te truth, you could say that no one actually discovered the americas because there were the natives, but it was a huge thing that Cristopher Columbus was able to sail the seas and prove that the world actuall is round, so I do respect part of him. I was really surprised when we were told that he committed second hand genicide and torture. I was dissapointed to discover that (in him).
ReplyDeleteAllegra B. 704
I totally agree with the people in the video because columbus has been looked up to as a heroic explorer. who found America and did anything to explore and bring back news to the spanish king of a new country. but columbus used his power to take over the new world and he brutally slaughtered innocent natives and made the natives find gold for them against there will and when nothing was found they would be killed. many other brutal killings where carried out by columbus and his men, these are just a few of the stories. should this so called explorer be looked upon as a person or killer.
ReplyDeletehenry h. 701
I don't think that we should honor Columbus's discovories, because one, he wasn't the first one to see the new land, it was his fellow crew member and he had no right to claim the land that the Natives had been living on for more than 10000 years. He also tortured so many of the people there that it makes me want to scream. This site(www.ahealedplanet.net/columbus.htm)
ReplyDeletehas lots of true information supporting the fact that he tortured many people and did many horrible things. I am really against Columbus but I guess its really up to you to decide if his discovery is more important than all of his sins.
Aiyana 704
I think that all of America should follow South Dakotas and Hawaiis path. Americans have hurt the native people of the conitinent again and again. It all started with Colombas and the fact that we honor him is disgusting. The crimes of murder and genocide do not desurve a holiday. Even though South Dakota has a large population of Native Americans that live there today as does Hawaii all of America used to be populated by Native Americans. Think of the tribes who lived in teepees and wigwams, outside of white tons and mud houses. We have stolen this land from them, the least we can do is offer a day to honor and support them, not the mindless killer who caused all the pain in the first place. When we think of the great explores Colombas, Hudson, and Lewis & Clark we do not think of gold tinted with blood, grounds once holy churned up, long marches of the Natives a way from the land they lived on. Why is America so corrupted? Didn't we shed our racisiam a long time ago? We should switch Colombas day to a day honoring Native Americans, not he man who killed them for gold.
ReplyDeleteSabina 704
I think that the natives should have a national holiday instead. They were the ones who were murdered, and we should honour there deaths, even as they paved the ability for us to live here. Columbus was a great explorer true, but he was also a murder. he killed so many people we should not remember him as a hero.
ReplyDeleteTheo Fenton 702
I think it makes sense to honor native americans on that day instead of Columbus because, after studying him in school and writing an essay on him, I realized that he does not deserve to be thought of as a great explorer and he made many people of his crew kill and torture lots of natives for no appropriate reason. He was a disgusting and terrible person and people who think of him as some kind of hero need to read "A Young People's History Of The United States" by Howard Zinn which talks about Columbus' terrible actions in a very creative and interesting way. We must banish Columbus Day!
ReplyDeleteEmily Zimmerman 703
I think that Columbus day should be celebrated, but we should call it something else, because Columbus did kill a lot of people and start the slave trade but, he also did discover america for spaniards. The day should honor the native americans but also still honor the spanish that discovered this new land. And at the time land was really important. Columbus wasn't the only "hero" who hurt others to get it. Without this discovery the world wouldn't be how it is today. But Columbus was not a hero so he shouldn't be honored as one.
ReplyDeleteThese are 10 reasons on why Christopher Columbus was a bad guy.
ReplyDelete1)He raped his slaves
2)The earth was already proven to be round by an Egyptian Greek scientist.
3)He was greedy and he only voyaged for three things: Gold, Glory, and God.
4)He forced Native Americans to search for gold when he knew there was none. If they didn't find the gold he wanted he would kill them.
5)He killed a hole village population so he could own their land.
6)He forced natives to convert their religion.
7)There was a reward for a person who found land. Columbus's crew member found it, but he said he found it and simply took the reward. The island that was found is now the Bahamas.
8)He ripped natives off with trades and kidnapped them so they could be slaves in Spain.
9)He stole and killed many people so Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand would finance another one of his journeys.
10)He lied about getting a lot of gold when really he didn't get a lot at all.
As you can see I don't think Columbus day should be celebrated due to the fact that Christopher Columbus didn't accomplish anything that a respectable person would look up to.
Chet Sloan 701
I think that the United States should continue to celebrate Columbus Day, but it should not be about the man, it should be more about how history evolved because America was discovered by Spain. And yes, native Americans should be given their own holiday. When Europeans first came to this country, the Native Americans were stripped of their land and pushed away to the point where they could no longer live in peace. They deserve to be honored, especially after they helped the Pilgrims survive to start the nation, and people like Christopher Columbus took advantage of them and mistreated them. Based on what I've been taught in school, Columbus did discover America for Spain (Only Spain because it had been discovered by other people such as vikings and was already inhabited by natives), but he acted like a tyrant to profit out of it and was more of a conqueror than an explorer who basically robbed innocent people of their lives.
ReplyDelete-Mikaela K.
704
I already wrote a comment, but to emphasize my point: Columbus didn't actually discover America! He found it, but native americans discovered it because when he got there, people were already there so that is not discovery. He also didn't even know that it was America. Is it really discovery if you think you discovered something that is something else your entire life? He found America by accident so even if you ignore his horrible sins, he didn't even DO anything.
ReplyDeleteEmily Zimmerman 703
Christopher Columbus is typically looked up to by Americans, we think of him as the great man who discovered america however, should Columbus receive so much praise? Columbus was cruel and unfair to the Native Americans. He turned them into servants and brought them diseases which killed most of the population. Schools should not give Christopher Columbus his own day. He is no hero. He is more so a Money Hungry villain.
ReplyDelete-kyle 704
I think that Columbus day should still be celebrated but should talk about what he did wrong to the natives. Also i do not believe that the natives should get their own holiday. As the video said all of this happened a long time ago. Why should America give natives a holiday for something that happened over 500 years ago.
ReplyDeleteHarold D
704
Up until 5th grade the truth behind Christopher Columbus is masked by the famous tale of him finding the new world, when in reality like discussed in the video he committed Heinous crimes to take the land from the Indians, but yet we celebrate this man who did all of this by giving a day to memorialize him. In my opinion Christopher Columbus should not have his own day in the American calender, instead there should more widespread information about his crimes to the Native Americans and his ties to the slave trade at an earlier age so we can understand the evil behind this man instead of claiming he is a hero.
ReplyDeleteCatherine Kreider
802