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1. “I’m not celebrating genocide” by Jessica Yee « The Bead Shop on 16 Oct 2008 at 6:08 am

   [...] Actually, in Venezuela, they have renamed it “Indigenous Resistance Day”… read more [...]

Comments

1. Lyonside wrote:

   Thank you for this. I know in some circles the U.S. Thanksgiving Day is called the National Day of Mourning (and rightly so). I’d love to hear people discuss Columbus Day in the same light.

   In my house, I call it Boat Day, as in “Don’t let them off the…” It’s from a comedian’s routine about what the Native Americans could have told the Africans when the European boats turned up on shore. One of those “Hah! Huh.” moments…

   Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 9:04 am ¶

2. Jus Plain Ol Me wrote:

   I live in Columbus, Ohio. When my daughter, who just turned one, is older and learning about her hometown’s namesake, I hope to provide the full story – not just HIStory.

   Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 9:08 am ¶

3. Jeffrey Landale wrote:

   “That name has since stuck on us like glue and has caused generations of systemic genocide and mass attempts to annihilate our culture.”
   Maybe I’m missing something, but how did a misnomer cause genocide?

   Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 9:16 am ¶

4. Tiffany wrote:

   Great post, I did a post on this also.. I am not celebrating the death of my ancestors..

   @Lyonside . you got that right thats what the natives should of told my ancestors when the boats pulled up on shore..

   Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 9:23 am ¶

5. Erica wrote:

   Columbus is one of the worst-at-his-job explorers of the era, yet one of the only ones with his own holiday. I’ve never understood why it was even vaguely appropriate for a holiday in the US; even ignoring the negative repercussions of his landing, he was sailing for Spain and he didn’t even land here. It ends up just falling under the “any excuse to take a Monday off” category for most people.

   At a recent faculty party, another professor’s spouse and I were talking about Columbus day. She mentioned that she thought it was ridiculous that in South America (where she’s from) one would celebrate enslavement on Columbus Day, then freedom on Independence Day.

   Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 10:10 am ¶

6. christine wrote:

   Maybe it because I’m from the west coast, but Columbus Day has never been a big day of celebration out here. As a child I learned the basics, “1492, sailed the ocean blue etc”, and that was the end of it. They don’t give the kids a day off from school, there are no parades or ceremonies, in fact the only thing that makes Columbus Day different than any other day is the post office is closed.

   Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 10:52 am ¶

7. Logan wrote:

   As a reply to what did Columbus even do to deserve to be celebrated:

   I would imagine the reason Columbus is celebrated, even if he wasn’t sure where he landed, was more because his discovery started the age of colonization and migration to America. While the Vikings and Amerigo knew of the land mass and discovered it prior to Columbus, Columbus’ discovery directly led to the influx of exploration and in many cases, exploitation of the new lands. While the world may not have changed much because of him (debatable, as there could be a big difference if America was first explored a couple decades later in who settled what and such, but not enough to really change the world I think), he was the one who started the world changing.

   Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 11:05 am ¶

8. shoepins wrote:

   Um, Spain is in Europe, not Latin America.

   Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 11:52 am ¶

9. Rob Schmidt wrote:

   Naturally, few Native people celebrate Columbus Day. On many reservations they treat it as a normal work day or rename it Native American Day.

   Every year people praise or protest Columbus Day in the media. See http://www.bluecorncomics.com/columbus.htm for some of the annual arguments.

   The most egregious story this year was Old Navy’s “Party Like It’s 1492″ sale. Read about it here:

   http://www.bluecorncomics.com/2008/10/party-like-its-1492.html

   I don’t know if people are getting the message, but maybe they are. I’d say there have been fewer hosannas to Columbus the last couple of years than there were five or ten years ago.

   P.S. It’s Arawak, not “Arahawk.” And Indians were arguably named for the East Indies, not for India.

   Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 11:56 am ¶

10. drispe wrote:

    In New York, Columbus is the catalyst for an annual parade. But somehow it’s actually a celebration of Italian heritage. You’d think that this association would be as unpleasant as one with the mafia.

    [By the way, "You are posting comments too quickly. Slow down." should never apply to the only post you've made all day.]

    Mod Note – Carmen and Tech are aware of that “posting too fast” glitch, but it seems to be random, not really caused by anything. Sorry. – LDP

    Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 12:37 pm ¶

11. TM wrote:

    @ shoepins:
    I think the poster Erica meant that Columbus “sailed for Spain” as in he was sponsored by Spain, and “he didn’t even land here” as in he did not land in what became the United States, hence it not being appropriate to celebrate Columbus in the U.S.

    @ Logan:
    Amerigo Vespucci’s explorations were after Columbus’.

    Personally, I’m dealing with my daughter’s preschool right now because they have the children dress like “Indians”–meaning the headband with feather–and make whooping sounds while patting their mouths. Yuck.

    Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 2:03 pm ¶

12. Jo wrote:

    I am a native Virgin Islander and Columbus also “discovered” our islands. Islands that were then inhabited by the indigenous Arawak and Carib people. For many years now we commemorate, instead, our relationship with the island of Puerto Rico with the VI-Puerto Rican Friendship Day than that of Columbus Day. Its unfortunate the such a large majority of Americans know very little, if anything at all, about the actually events surrounding their history. It also makes me very thankful for the historians who have passed on a more realistic portrait of the happenings of that time. I believe that as in the days before textbooks, its up to mothers and fathers and neighbors and community organizations to disseminate truth and a sense of pride in the youth of today.

    Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 2:56 pm ¶

13. Cecelia wrote:

    Jessica, great piece!! You know I definitely do not celebrate this day.

    @ Jus Plain Ol Me – That is great to hear that you want to provide your daughter with the full story its not all about HIStory indeed. There are unheard stories from woman, children, elders, working people, poor, homeless, under served, under heard, people of color, women of color, glbtq and aboriginal/first nations/indigenous and native peoples worldwide.

    Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 3:23 pm ¶

14. Renee wrote:

    Not only was it Columbus day it as also Canadian Thanksgiving. Not many are aware of the true significance of this. All over Canada ovens were filled with Turkeys and few were reflecting on what they were actually celebrating. I think it is important to have conversations on this day about exactly what went on and turn it into an international day of remembrance.

    No more fairy tales about the kindness of European explorers. No more falsehoods about about how their main goal was exploration for scientific purposes.

    The truth of what occurred needs to be recognized. At the very least we owe the indigenous people recognition of what was done as well as ownership of ways in which we continue to marginalize them.

    Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 3:24 pm ¶

15. Misspelled wrote:

    I remember that when I went looking in a bookstore for A People’s History of the United States, there was a sort of “response” book written by some reactionary wingnut(s) on the shelf beneath it, with a similar cover and everything. Zinn’s book (in the edition I bought) covers 1492 through Bush’s first term and identifies Columbus’s “discovery” of the “New World” for the genocidal slaveryfest it was. This other book also noted a timespan on its front cover, by way of some subtitle like “From Columbus’s GLORIOUS, HEROIC discovery of America, up to… [some other bullshit].” Apparently that first chapter struck a particular nerve with the White Man’s Burden brigade.

    In retrospect, I really would’ve liked to have read it, at least to find out whether they’re denying that the slaughter and enslavement ever took place, or just thought it was A-okay because it got the party started.

    Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 3:47 pm ¶

16. Paz wrote:

    Since I’m in pc California, Colombus Day is no longer here.

    Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 5:54 pm ¶

17. Jessica Yee wrote:

    @Jeffrey Landale
    The answer to your question as to why the name “Indians” has caused generations of genocide is a long and painful answer. I can sum it up (and not do it justice though) by saying that here in Canada, for example, we as Aboriginal people have to register for our “Indian” status card, which the department of Indian and Northern Affairs administers, and gets to decide what we get. This system was created when the colonizers decided they needed to single out who was Native or not to take our land, rape our resources, and assimilate us to go to their residential/mission/boarding schools. And we are not Indians.

    @Rob Schmidt
    Thanks for the spelling correction. The Latin America and Spain, and the India and calling us “Indian” references were me being facetious, and you can rattle on and on about the actual facts, etc.

    I take issue however with your reference to “they”. As a Native person, I don’t appreciate people speaking for me (or the hundreds of history books written by non-Native people either). If you are taking the position of being an ally as a non-Native person, please articulate who exactly “they” are; as in who did you talk to. Or if you are making a mass reference to us all, maybe you could say “in my experience”, “from those I’ve spoken to”, etc. Give voice to the actual Native people.

    Using “they” makes you seem like the expert, which quite frankly, we don’t need anymore outside our community. In order for us to protect our voice and knowledge, these boundaries need to be set and respected.

    Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 6:19 pm ¶

18. hexy wrote:

    We have a similar issue with “Australia Day” here, or “Invasion Day” as the Indigenous community has named it.

    Every year, the papers are full of white people complaining that Indigenous Aussies are ruining it with the stupid complaining about the genocide.

    Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 8:08 pm ¶

19. Jeffrey Landale wrote:

    Jessica:
    I’m still not getting it. I’m assuming the status-card thing was post-ethnic cleansing, so I don’t see how that effects what happened.

    Posted 15 Oct 2008 at 11:16 pm ¶

20. Melissa wrote:

    When it comes to our history, I`m usually wary of any kind of day or month devoted to concepts which require and deserve more than a “glossing over”.

    On the other hand, I do see why people see the need for something constructive in order to encourage people to start or continue discussion about our collective history. Sometimes, it is an attempt to make marginalized issues a part of mainstream society.

    Columbus Day, however, doesn`t even attempt this. I`m curious to know what people think of something like a “Reconciliation Day” in its place.

    Posted 16 Oct 2008 at 6:26 am ¶

21. Rob Schmidt wrote:

    Jessica, the only Indian “they” I used was in “On many reservations they treat it as a normal work day or rename it Native American Day.” This is a statement of fact, not an expression of opinion. I don’t think I need to apologize for “speaking for Indians” when I’m factually stating their tribal government policies.

    FYI, I read a few dozen articles by and about Indians every day. I interact with some of the tens of thousands of people (many of them Indians) who visit my site every day. I work for an Indian-owned news site (http://www.pechanga.net) and write for publications such as Indian Country Today. They’re my sources for statements such as the above.

    But if you want specific references for my claims about Columbus Day and Native American Day, the following are some of the articles I’ve read recently. They include many statements and quotes from Indians:

    http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20081013_11_A1_hAmeri589341

    http://www.kumeyaay.com/2008/10/a-columbus-day-message/

    http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081012/VOICES/810120330

    P.S. If you want to question what I’ve said, go ahead and question it. Provide your facts and evidence to counter mine. But I don’t buy this “I’m Indian and you’re not so I’m right and you’re not” line of reasoning. It’s not valid unless you can prove it’s valid, which you haven’t done.

    Posted 20 Oct 2008 at 1:59 am ¶

22. Jessica Yee wrote:

    I’m not Indian actually. I’m Onkwehonwe; Native, Indigenous.

    Last time I checked, none of my people were Indians either.

    So, yes, please check your facts.

    Posted 20 Oct 2008 at 7:34 am ¶