Long before the every so popular Christaphor Columbus came to South America, thinking it was India, there were Natives. Native Americans that rules over the high lands of America, and had every right to that land. However, as all of you know Christopher Columbus sailed the big blue sea in search of Indian spices and gold that was much wanted in that time period. The lack of information and knowledge of the world would lead Columbus to some Caribbean islands, now known as the Bahamas, and South America. The big lesson learned here is that Christopher Columbus never did set foot on the North of America, nor did find India and all the gold and spices it had to offer.
So why exactly do we have a Columbus Day, when the founding of America; the land of opportunities was never discovered by Columbus? Why in this day and age is there no celebration for the Native Americans, that had to relocate and surrender their homes to the colonists?
I realized with a start that educational lessons taught in school can be wrong, mostly that which pertains to our history. Throughout elementary school, middle school, and high school, the topic of history has always been taught and mandatory. The adventurous, story-like lessons on Christopher Columbus has created an extraordinary character of who Columbus might be. But, the fact is Christopher Columbus was not the hero of the story, nor did he help in any way to directly contribute to lead America into the right path. The history of our country can in many ways change the way we see certain things and come to understand how and why America came to be. And for the most part, it is really interesting to hear about life when long dresses and horses were in fashion. But seriously, let's get real here, isn't wearing ankle length dresses a hassle, anyway back to the topic. We are only looking at a one-sided mirror, and can only know one side of the story. Like Sherman Alexie said its time to “ tell the truth” (Source 1) about Native Americans and ask the more urgent questions. How were the Native Americans affected by the age of exploration? And how did manifest destiny restrict their lives?
The concept of Columbus Day was to express the age of exploration, but there is a whole other story from the Native Americans that have never been brought to light. “ A lot of crimes were committed against the natives and indigenous people that we should be aware of “ (Source 4) is the next big thing that we should all be talking about. The idea of having an Indigenous people’s day recognizes the pain and suffering that Native Americans had to go through during the age of exploration. Anywho, have you seen Christopher Columbus, he looks like that meme of the baby with painted eyebrows.
(Ok, so it might just be me, but this is what I envision Columbus looked like when he discovered "India" ps. actually South America )
