Having grown up in a relatively progressive area of Vermont, I’d always assumed that everyone knew what I knew: that Christopher Columbus was garbage. Instead, I’m surprised every single year by the people who defend the man and the holiday in his honor. This year, Vermont took a huge step in the right direction by renaming this holiday from “Columbus Day” to “Indigenous People’s Day;” however, let’s not pretend that we are suddenly a beacon of change for the native population itself.
Certainly we must say good riddance to Christopher Columbus Day. This is a helpful reminder that the man committed atrocious crimes such as genocide, rape, and establishing the Atlantic slave trade. In America, we have turned Columbus into a cultural icon who represents bravery, adventure, and integrity—of which this man had none.
In case anybody out there was unaware, the innocent story of "Columbus discovered America" is not only false, but an act of re-writing history from the privileged perspective of the conquering side. To believe that Columbus was anywhere near the general realm of being a good human being is to completely erase history, and to ignore the suffering of an entire population of indigenous people. The celebration of this holiday stood for the erasure of Native American Culture, utter distortion of history, and our willful ignorance toward our white privilege.
But perhaps the most insulting aspect of Columbus Day isn’t the terrible narrative that he caused the genocide of the Natives—but that Native Americans are real people who still exist in the United States, and they live in a country that praises the man who began their strife. The oppression of the Native Americans may have begun with Columbus, but it has stretched on for centuries, encompassing countless American presidents, historical figures, and military commanders. Every time a young child learns the rhyme “In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” it is a slap in the face toward every young child of Indigenous heritage who is sequestered to reserves and faces continual discrimination. The wound that has been inflicted upon the Indigenous peoples of this land is far too deep to heal overnight or with the renaming of a holiday—yet it is impossible to begin the healing process in a society that refuses to take responsibility for our actions, and a staunch denial for our ancestor’s wrongdoings.
Modern Indigenous people live both in reservations, and integrated into mainstream society, and face countless problems such as the continual theft of their lands for the purpose of fossil fuel pipeline development, denial of their right to clean drinking water, poverty, disease, and the continual theft of their culture. Re-naming this holiday to celebrate Indigenous people instead of Columbus is a good start—but Columbus’s legacy will never be over so long as the rights, lands, and health of Native People continues to be stolen.
So, as my fellow Vermonters transition from celebrating Columbus day to celebrating Indigenous peoples day, try to think of Indigenous People as a modern group of people, and not as a tragic myth. Check out what you can do to help various causes, such as pipeline protests in your area, and continue to increase your awareness of these people and the issues they face. The first step to addressing racism is often to acknowledge your privilege and become informed on how to leverage that privilege for the benefit of oppressed groups—and it is imperative that white Americans continue to educate themselves on the ways in which we can partner with and help Indigenous people. Acknowledging our history as it actually happened is the first step—and I’m incredibly proud of Vermonters for taking this step: but we must be careful not to pat ourselves on the back too much, for if we become comfortable with our treatment of Indigenous populations than we will cease our progress. We cannot let ourselves replace ignorance of past crimes with ignorance of present crimes, and we must actively work to prevent future crimes.
