Columbus and Indigenous Day
In hopes of finding another trade route to the east, Christopher Columbus and 86 others began their voyage on 3 August 1492, taking three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
Columbus was under the sponsorships of Ferdinand II and Isabelle I, catholic monarchs of the Spain places Aragon, Castile, and Leon. The Santa Maria was lost at sea, before arrival.
Christopher Columbus was 41 years old, during the time of his voyage, which took 61 days. On 12 October 1492, he had crossed the Atlantic Ocean and found the Bahamas. At the time it was called San Salvador Island, though it is now known at wailing island. Christoper Columbus did not believe that he found a new world, he assumed it was part of India. It was then known as the East Indies.
In 1496, Columbus became governor of what is now the Dominican Republic. He was unsuccessful in getting the Spanish colony to follow his leadership, which led to many things. He began to use strict discipline and misconduct. This led to his arrest and his noble titles being taken away.
Christopher Columbus died on 20 May 1506, from arthritis, just a year before the sailor Rodrigo Bernardo made his ten-week voyage across the Atlantic. Bernardo discovered that it was not the East Indies, it was actually a new world.
Christopher Columbus Day was first celebrated on 12 October 1792. The celebration was held by the Columbian Order of New York, commonly known as Tammany Hall.
Italian Americans also celebrated on 12 October 1866. But they did not specifically celebrate Christopher Columbus or his discovery, rather they celebrated their heritage.
1892 was the 400th anniversary of the founding of the New World. President Benjamin Harrison declared Columbus Day as a onetime national celebration, easing tension with Italy. He wrote “On that day let the people, so far as possible, cease from toil and devote themselves to such exercises as may best express honor to the discoverer and their appreciation of the great achievements of the four completed centuries of American life.”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially made Columbus Day a national holiday in 1937.
The themes of Columbus Day included citizenship boundaries, importance of loyalty to the In the United States, federal government offices, as well as many banks, along with a few businesses are closed on Columbus Day. There are Columbus Day and Italian heritage parades and celebrations.
One must keep in mind that if it were not for the Native Americans who already inhabited America, the Pilgrims never would have survived. Squanto was part of the Wampanoag tribe, which was located in east Massachusetts. In 1621, the Puritans met him, and were taught how to farm, fish, and hunt. If it were not for his help, they most likely wouldn’t have survived.
In 1977, it was discussed during the International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations, if they should replace Columbus Day. It wasn’t until 1992 that a group spoke to the city council of Berkeley, California, and were able to convince them to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. This brought attention to the diseases, wars, and massacres that the Native Americans had suffered.
The year after it was declared, and to this day, there is a festival and pow wow to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day.
Now there are at least twelve states that celebrate Indigenous peoples Day in place of Columbus Day, with many celebrating both.
To celebrate this day, people attend or participate inn festivals, protest, and wear orange or red.