“In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” (Sing along now, the Columbus Day Song! Sung to the tune of Farmer in the Dell!) “He had three ships and left from Spain; he sailed through sunshine, wind and rain….October 12 their dream came true, you never saw a happier crew! ‘Indians! Indians!’ Columbus cried; his heart was filled with joyful pride…The Arawakan natives were very nice; they gave the sailors food and spice. Columbus sailed on to find some gold, to bring back home, as he’d been told. He made the trip again and again, trading gold to bring to Spain. The first American? No, not quite. But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.”
I asked my husband early this week if he had Monday off, and I told him I did. “Why?”, he asked. My husband has a really hard time keeping track of holidays, for some reason. He has Christmas and Thanksgiving down, and he knows what day the 4th of July is, but beyond that, he is usually at a loss. When I replied “Columbus Day”, he snorted and rolled his eyes, which I took for a “no”. Working in an industry closely tied to banking, I happily observe all banking holidays, and cherish those three-day weekends. But it got me to thinking…
My husband is far from alone when it comes to not remembering this particular “holiday”. Columbus Day has always stuck in my craw. I have referred to it derisively for years as “Small Pox Day”, but it could also be a day that marks the arrival of measles, influenza, slavery and greed. I don’t doubt that Columbus was probably “brave” and “bright”, but by many accounts, he was also cruel to the natives, and driven mostly by the need to carry on the legacy of his seafaring family, gain aristocratic status and achieve material wealth. There is no dispute that he was following orders from the Spanish monarchy, who was very interested in conquering and pillaging anything and everything that could have boots land and hands laid upon. History notes that the gold from Columbus’ voyages helped to finance 400 years of war. His family wasn’t about to be shorted either; lawsuits alleging discrepancies in his compensation went on between his heirs and the Spanish government for almost 300 years.
When Columbus landed in the Bahamas, the natives gave freely of anything that was asked: food, water, supplies, labor, gold. The crew took it all, and then some, and gave red hats and beads in return. In landing, the Santa Maria was wrecked, and the Arawak spent hours saving the crew and their cargo. In one account, after giving so much, the natives took two shirts, to gift to their chief, and had their noses sliced off and barely escaped execution. Columbus made note of the natives’ generosity and “robust” good health, and apparently made mental note about their gullibility and potential for becoming slaves. When he returned to Spain with embellished tales of rivers of gold and legions of potential slaves, he received funding for more voyages to collect on the goods. On the next trip, Columbus demanded the natives find gold for him, and if they couldn’t produce the required amount, they would have their hands cut off, then tied around their necks until they bled to death. This was the fate of an estimated 10,000 natives. In subsequent visits to the islands, he and his crew found the native population decimated. In 1492, there was an estimated 250,000 Arawak. By 1517, their numbers had been reduced to 14,000. Infectious disease was not the only reason…many committed suicide, distraught and in fear of the consequences of not being able to produce their required quota of gold. Once he determined that they could produce no more gold, he took about 500 of the healthiest natives as slaves to bring back to Spain. At least 200 died on the return voyage, and were tossed overboard. His crew was full of rough sorts that joined in the atrocities: rape, murder of babies, training dogs to eat human flesh and then setting them loose on the natives for sport, collection and trading of women and children for sex slaves, commenting that “those from nine to ten are now in demand”. His terrible treatment of the natives and general mismanagement of the situation resulted in his arrest and return to Spain, where King Ferdinand promptly pardoned him and granted him funding for a fourth voyage. Fortunately, the crew included a few men with the moral fortitude to document the ugly truths. Unfortunately, by 1555, the Arawak were wiped out completely.
So, this is a man who warrants a federal holiday?
New York City, with a large population of Italian-Americans, celebrated the 300th anniversary of the arrival of Columbus, and in 1892, the New York Stock Exchange closed for 3 days, in a “celebratory” recognition of the 400th anniversary. Draw your own parallels about Wall Street and the pursuit and glorification of material wealth. As a result of the lobbying efforts of The Knights of Columbus, FDR declared Columbus Day a Federal Holiday in 1934. Since then, states, counties, and cities have varied in the level of observance and non-observance. Some ignore it completely, some have changed the name, to Indigenous People’s Day or Native American Day, or have abandoned the October date altogether and moved those celebrations to completely different times of the year.
I reflect back on the brainwashing I received as a child, such as having to memorize the “Columbus Day Song/Poem”. History is written by the victors, which is made even easier if most of those that one was victorious over are dead and can’t offer their own version. I think about the Thanksgiving art projects, in which we crafted construction paper headdresses and made drums out of empty oatmeal containers, and were taught that the Pilgrims and the Indians sat around a picnic table, politely passing platters of turkey and cranberries. The truth seems to be a little murkier, and I don’t recall being taught in grade school that roughly half of those early settlers died the first winter, and that the remaining half would not have survived without the aid of the local natives, and the pilfering of the stores of another decimated tribe. This was followed closely by the Jamestown Indian Massacre. I do remember learning about Manifest Destiny, and that it was presented not as something that should be apologized for, but simply a statement of fact and acceptance that it was appropriate for the times. The arrogance is mind-boggling. I queried my coworker about what she remembers being taught about Columbus Day, and she spouted the same poem. Later that morning we questioned a couple that came by our office, who were in their early seventies, about their recollections of Columbus Day teachings, and…same poem! They weren’t sure if it was actually a legal holiday back when they were in primary school (it was), but they were obviously victims of the very same brainwashing. To make matters worse, not only is Columbus still lauded, but when arrested and confronted with his cruel treatment of the natives, he made up lies that they were cannibals, and that the atrocities were carried out in self-defense. In some school districts in our country, that is still taught as fact. That is changing, however. New initiatives that require teaching some units from a Native perspective are now being required in forward thinking states across the country. Historical revisionism? Damn right, and it’s about damn time.
I was curious what, if anything, is taught about Columbus in Tribal Schools. I called a friend, who is the Program Manager for the Native Education Certificate Program at the University of Washington, and is part Native American. I assumed that the general consensus about Columbus Day among Native Americans would be that it is offensive and should be abolished, and she confirmed that assumption. Her view, which I can only assume is shared by all Native Americans, is that Columbus represents a doctrine of white supremacy and colonialism. That Columbus Day is a misguided celebration of those who seek to conquer the people who live off the land, and to claim the land and its resources for their own use. She suggests that we should view the day as one in which we embrace and celebrate the legacy of those who lived in harmony with nature, and that a World Indigenous People’s Day could help us all move forward on a platform of “honoring the earth, and respecting the land that we live on, both in the past, and today.” She believes that we are our ancestors, that we are a sum of our past and present, and that we must embrace the moment, because that is our future. I hope Columbus was not one of my ancestors.
I have another friend that works for a small local tribe, and by her calculation, carries “a smidge” of Indian Blood. I called her to see if her office was open on Monday, and if there was ever any mention of Columbus Day, or if the Tribe ignores it, or just calls it by another name. She said the office was open, that there is sometimes talk of doing “something” commemorative, but under a different guise, and that Columbus Day is largely ignored. The local tribes celebrate “Native American Day” in April, and they do take that day off. I asked her what she does on that day, and she said nothing special. I asked what her tribal co-workers do on that day, and the answer was largely the same.
When it comes to holidays, most of us are just happy for some time off, a paid holiday if we’re lucky, and we don’t put much thought into the meaning of the day. On religious holidays, we might attend church. On Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day, we might attend a public speech or visit a cemetery. More likely, we will attend a barbecue and drink some beer. I can remember going to the opening of the movie “Platoon”, when I lived in California, and it changed the way I think about how people view commemorative days. In the theater lobby after the movie, there were so many Veterans, in wheelchairs, missing arms or legs or both, and I was completely moved as I watched them greet each other with tears in their eyes. I was consumed with guilt over the fact that there had been a war, that they had suffered, and that I had done nothing. Mind you, during the Vietnam War, I was a second grader in plastic go-go boots, so I would not have been much of a contributor. Maybe that is part of why I feel so strongly about Columbus Day. I am not Native American (that I am aware), I am of mixed European descent, and I do enjoy the free day off. But I still feel horrible that the atrocities happened, that they were perpetuated by a man of my race, albeit hundreds of years before my time. That the ramifications of that “discovery” still haunt the descendants of those first Indians, and I have benefited from that pillaging, also done hundreds of years before my time. But there it is. It may mark the beginning of the modern age, but for many, it marks the beginning of the destruction of the native population and their way of life, and the asphalting of America. That, I cannot celebrate. I was thinking about all of this on the way to work last week, and as I drove down the highway, past fast food restaurants, car washes, and other generally unattractive places of commerce, I couldn’t help but question how this was better than the pristine land that was there before.
In President Obama’s 2015 Proclamation of Columbus Day, we were called upon “to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.” For me, that means driving to a favorite spot to hike or kayak, which happens to be on an Indian reservation, and to be humble and gracious to everyone I meet that day. If I have a chance, I will ask them what their thoughts are about the day, and if they ask, I will tell them mine. I hope they won’t hold it against me that I am not Native American, and that I will be welcomed on their land. I told my friend that I had always thought of myself as having some Indian blood coursing through my veins, because I have always felt in my heart that I shared that reverence for nature, am driven by a need to feel at one with nature, and feel most like myself when I am alone, in an unspoiled natural place. She urged me to investigate my ancestral heritage, and she said that Indigenous People’s Day was a perfect starting point for my own personal discovery.
I will still take the day off, but I will not be giving thanks or praise to the original namesake of the day. Instead, I will be seeking a spot where I can convene with nature, and give thanks to the land, the animals, the trees, the plants, the sun and sky. I will mourn what has been lost, give thanks and support to the many stewards of the planet that carry on in their hearts the desire to live in harmony with the planet. To the legacy that belongs to all of us, no matter our origins. We may not be able to change the things that were put into play 542 years ago, or what was done by and to others that came long before our time, but we can acknowledge it with open eyes, open minds, and open hearts, and try to do better going forward.
Sources: History.net; millsgen.com; wikipedia.org, IndianCountrytodaymedianetwork.com; history.com; teachingheart.net; omrf.org; whitehouse.gov; nyse.com; collective-evolution.com; thestranger.com; indian-ed.org
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