by KARLA CASIQUE
Cristóbal Colón was wrong.
Wrong in his calculations, in dying thinking that he had found another route to Asia, in thinking that the indigenous people he “met” were descendants from the mighty Mongolians, in his perverse and atrocious treatments of the ones who truly “discovered” the Americas.
Courts all over Europe denied him for decades before Ferdinand and Isabella accepted his voyage.
He was the one who opened the door to the harsh wave of death onto the lands, catapulting the toxic labels onto natives — savages, barbaric, heathens and every other stereotype we still see today.
As my history of colonial Latin America professor says, repeat after me: Christopher Columbus was wrong.
So why do I still have “Columbus Day” written on my Macbook’s calendar?
Countries such as Venezuela changed “El Día de la Raza,” a day to glorify Spanish culture, to “Día de la Resistencia Indígena” back in 2002 — giving the spotlight to our ancestors instead of to our colonizers.
Cities across the U.S. have been following this example. The city of Albuquerque, which has the highest concentration of Native Americans in New Mexico, issued a statement saying the following:
“[The city] encourages businesses, organizations and public entities to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day, which shall be used to reflect upon the ongoing struggles of Indigenous people on this land, and to celebrate the thriving culture and value that our Indigenous nations add to our City.”
It’s great to honor indigenous traditions, but at the same time, we have to acknowledge the struggles that the native community is going through. How is it that the guardians of this earth are the ones that are most ignored in society?
How is it that the guardians of this earth are the ones that are most ignored in society?
Indigenous peoples aren’t of the past. They don’t only exist when you wear fake moccasins from Payless or when you watch Pocahontas and sing “Colors of the Wind.”
They don’t only exist when you wear a headdress to a sweaty music festival or when you tell stories of Squanto at Thanksgiving.
They exist today. Native artists such as Lakota rapper Frank Waln and Canadian musician Lido Pimienta, who is Wayuu, are being vocal about the genocide and the trials that are faced by native people.
The Canadian electro DJ group A Tribe Called Red showcase their people in ways that haven’t been done before — instead of having music videos presenting the Creation story, they show native youth having fun, dreaming of being wrestlers and creating music that connects the past with the present.
There’s a reason the group APACHE skateboards from San Carlos reservation in Arizona bluntly state that they are not a “’let’s save the Indians with skateboarding’ organization” in their Facebook bio.
Why? Because there’s so much more to native culture than grief.
But the world will not know that until we stop celebrating the oppressors, the ones who ignited the genocide of millions of natives.
Until we stop treating indigenous like mascots, cartoons, people of the past and respect their traditions and allow ourselves to unlearn the perceptions we have of them.
Let’s raise our support for those eight cities across our nation that have abolished the cancer that is Columbus Day and fight for it to be stripped away from our society.
If we truly are “the land of the free,” then why are we honoring the one who unleashed the blood of millions onto the land?
Karla Casique is a contributor to Plex. She studies journalism at the University of Maryland.
