Mikayla Smith
ENGL 151-03
10/13/14
Columbus Day
Columbus Day is a day to remember the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, or is it? Many states here in the USA are changing the name of this holiday to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. People across the country believe that this day should not honor Columbus, but to honor the Native Americans that were living here before he came. Protestors clash with supporters of the holiday, and normally end up being arrested[MRS1] [MRS2] .
In an article from The New York Times, an indigenous activist, Luis Ramos, speaks of Columbus when he says, “The indigenous memory contains a lot of pain and hurt and tragedy because of this man.” The[MRS3] [MRS4] other side of Columbus Day, in regards to the already native tribes of the Americas, shows the hardship of this discovery. The Native Americans were living just fine until the discovery of their land by Europeans. By people changing the name of the holiday, they are shifting the focus from Christopher Columbus to the people he encountered in the New World[MRS5] [MRS6] .
Christopher Columbus, the explorer that discovered the “New World,” was not the first to be there. A very wide spread misconception is that he discovered the Americas. However, he began his journey to find a direct water route from Europe to Asia for trade, and happened to come across the Americas. He voyaged here four times[MRS7] [MRS8] . The History Channel says this is how Columbus is remembered, “…as a daring and path-breaking explorer who transformed the New World, yet his actions also unleashed changes that would eventually devastate the native populations he and his fellow explorers encountered[MRS9] [MRS10] .” He may have been the first European to visit this land and the people living, and also he changed their lives substantially in the long run.
- The change of the holiday’s name is a good step in allowing Native Americans to have their voices heard. Their lives were from then on changed dramatically by this discovery by Columbus. Almost all of the native tribes have[MRS11] [MRS12] lost their land, were receivers of broken promises, and eventually pushed from their homelands. People really should look into both sides of this story, not just at the discovery itself.
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/military/hurlburt/misconceptions-in-history-columbus-day-1.216301
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/12/living/columbus-day-indigenous-people-day/
[MRS1]Elaborate on this maybe? Or delete this sentence, it’s random.
[MRS3]Good transition/comparison word!
[MRS5]How were the Native Americans living just fine? What could they do on their own?
[MRS7]Really good information here!!
[MRS9]What did Columbus do that was good? Beside the fact that Native Americans lost land. What did he bring forth to the Americas?
[MRS11]Change ‘have’ to ‘had’