Monday was a historic Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Just days prior, Joe Biden became the first sitting president to mark the occasion with a formal proclamation. “Our Nation celebrates the invaluable contributions and resilience of Indigenous peoples, recognizes their inherent sovereignty, and commits to honoring the Federal Government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations,” Biden noted.
He also issued a proclamation for Columbus Day, a day honoring the so-called “explorer” who never set foot in the U.S. in the first place. Biden acknowledged that Columbus’ first voyage put him in what is now the Bahamas and offered a clear-eyed assessment of “the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities.” The statement attempts to balance the violence of colonizers with recognition of Italian Americans.
Biden implies the proclamation is a way of acknowledging these “shameful episodes of our past.” This argument has been made in favor of keeping Confederate statues from being toppled. And it shares a parallel with attempts to keep Robert E. Lee Day on the books, though those efforts are certainly failing.
Once observed by five different states, now only Alabama and Mississippi mark Robert E. Lee Day, which falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And it looks as if Columbus Day’s fate is headed in the same direction. More and more states have chosen to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day and some states, like Alaska and Vermont, have thrown out Columbus Day entirely.
So, what would it take for the federal observance of Columbus Day to end? It all comes down to Congress agreeing to remove the holiday, followed by the president signing off on it. The same process is used when establishing federal holidays, as seen with the recent addition of Juneteenth to the federal holiday calendar.
Acknowledging Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a step in the right direction but it is just that—one step. Another is demanding that Congress take action and eliminate a holiday that glorifies atrocities against the very indigenous communities we should instead be celebrating.
It’s worth noting that Columbus Day itself is its own misguided attempt to uplift a community. President Benjamin Harrison signed the 1892 proclamation celebrating “Discovery Day” and applauding Columbus in particular just one year after anti-Italian lynchings in New Orleans led to the deaths of 11 people and strained relations with Italy. Right-wing supporters of the holiday now reimagine Columbus as the embodiment of the “American spirit,” as claimed in an article published by The Daily Citizen, Focus on the Family’s media arm.
Is Columbus Day worth observing and preserving, or is it time to replace the holiday entirely? Share your thoughts in the poll below and feel free to comment.
He also issued a proclamation for Columbus Day, a day honoring the so-called “explorer” who never set foot in the U.S. in the first place. Biden acknowledged that Columbus’ first voyage put him in what is now the Bahamas and offered a clear-eyed assessment of “the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities.” The statement attempts to balance the violence of colonizers with recognition of Italian Americans.
Biden implies the proclamation is a way of acknowledging these “shameful episodes of our past.” This argument has been made in favor of keeping Confederate statues from being toppled. And it shares a parallel with attempts to keep Robert E. Lee Day on the books, though those efforts are certainly failing.
Once observed by five different states, now only Alabama and Mississippi mark Robert E. Lee Day, which falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And it looks as if Columbus Day’s fate is headed in the same direction. More and more states have chosen to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day and some states, like Alaska and Vermont, have thrown out Columbus Day entirely.
So, what would it take for the federal observance of Columbus Day to end? It all comes down to Congress agreeing to remove the holiday, followed by the president signing off on it. The same process is used when establishing federal holidays, as seen with the recent addition of Juneteenth to the federal holiday calendar.
Acknowledging Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a step in the right direction but it is just that—one step. Another is demanding that Congress take action and eliminate a holiday that glorifies atrocities against the very indigenous communities we should instead be celebrating.
It’s worth noting that Columbus Day itself is its own misguided attempt to uplift a community. President Benjamin Harrison signed the 1892 proclamation celebrating “Discovery Day” and applauding Columbus in particular just one year after anti-Italian lynchings in New Orleans led to the deaths of 11 people and strained relations with Italy. Right-wing supporters of the holiday now reimagine Columbus as the embodiment of the “American spirit,” as claimed in an article published by The Daily Citizen, Focus on the Family’s media arm.
Is Columbus Day worth observing and preserving, or is it time to replace the holiday entirely? Share your thoughts in the poll below and feel free to comment.