The Columbus Day Debate
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The second Monday in October has traditionally been known as Columbus Day in honor of the Italian explorer's "discovery" of the Americas on October 12, 1492. However, the US federal holiday, which will be celebrated on October 11 this year, has always been controversial due to the European settlers' cruel treatment of the Native American people.
Historians also argue that Christopher Columbus was not the first to find the continent. The indigenous people had been living in the Americas long before his arrival. He was also not the first European to set foot in North America. That honor belongs to a group of Vikings, led by Leif Eriksson, who established a settlement in Greenland in AD 980.
Some US states, including Oregon, Iowa, and Nebraska, have never recognized Columbus Day. Hawaii renamed it "Discoverers' Day" — in honor of the state's Polynesian founders — in 1971, while South Dakota changed it to "Native American Day" in 1990. As public awareness of the controversy increased, many US schools and universities also stopped observing the holiday.

The shift in sentiment was encouraging, but many people were still unhappy about Columbus Day being a federal holiday. In 1977, a delegation of Native nations — attending the International NGO Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas — proposed renaming Columbus Day to "Indigenous Peoples' Day." They believed the change would help honor the victims of American colonization. The resolution passed with an overwhelming majority.
Berkeley, CA, was the first US city to make the change in 1992, and Santa Cruz, CA, followed shortly after in 1994. But the idea really began to gain momentum after 2014. That year, Minneapolis, MN, Grand Rapids, MN, and Seattle, WA, renamed the holiday. Since then, over 100 cities and entire states, including Alaska and Oregon, have adopted Indigenous Peoples' Day.
In 2020, Colorado replaced Columbus Day with Cabrini Day, in honor of Frances Xavier Cabrini. The Italian-American Roman Catholic nun helped establish over 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages in the United States and South and Central America. The same year, Arizona decided to recognize both Indigenous Peoples' Day and Columbus Day on the second Monday in October.

The movement to alter the name has also gained ground in Latin America. Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, and Uruguay have all renamed Columbus Day to "Día de la Raza," or "Day of the Race." The holiday celebrates Latin America's mixed indigenous and European heritage and culture. Venezuela and Nicaragua's "Día de la Resistencia Indígena," or "Day of the Indigenous Resistance," honors the indigenous population's past and ongoing struggles.
But not everyone thinks a name change is necessary. For Italian Americans, Columbus Day is the centerpiece of the Italian Heritage Month, celebrated every October. They argue the holiday honors the history of immigration, not the explorer. Therefore, they believe the name should be retained or changed to something more appropriate, like Italian Heritage Day. What do you think? Be sure to let us know by adding your comments below.
Resources: Wikipedia.org, CNN.com, History.com, PBS.org

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128 Comments
- girllly128 monthsI think Columbus day should NOT be celebrated.
- girllly128 monthsI don't celebrate that anyway.
- cherrypotato18 monthsindigenous peoples day would make sense but I've been used to Columbus day my whole life I do like how I can get out of school but also after reading this article I've now realized what columbus day is and what it means to people.
- snowflake2001over 1 yearI am in the green. I don't celebrate this holiday . But at least I have school off 😁
- techfashion0315over 1 yearI lean toward Indigenous People's Day, personally.
- maxverstappen33over 1 yearI think Columbus Day should be celebrated instead of Indigenous Peoples day. think that because Columbus discovered America and I don't want to erase history
- weirdisgood20234 monthsNo, he did not discover America. When he arrived in this “new world,” he thought he was in India. Then, Columbus massacred indigenous people, thinking that these people were “Indians.” The indigenous people were the original inhabitants of the Americas,
- susboyanimekid6 monthsHe literally didn't and their is evidence but go off I guess🙄😑
- girllly128 monthsIt's not erasing history It's just that he wasn't the first to find America and he treated the indigenous population really cruelly.
- weirdisgood20234 monthsExactly!
- mimi28 monthsya it is not so i agree
- metallica1991about 1 yearColumbus didn't discover america people were already living there before he came.
- chihiroxhaku30over 1 yearHe wasn't the first person here though. He was the first white person, but not the first person.
- mamoudubahover 1 yeari will pick indigenous cause the native americans were the first people to have feet on this land until colombus came he ruin it
- kammeoover 1 yearI don't celebrate this
- nauenover 1 yearawesome!
- jahjah404over 1 yearcool
- minecrafter68over 1 yeari dont really mess with this stuff BUT! i do think it should be indigenous not colombus l