NEW YORK – Monday’s federal holiday dedicated to Christopher Columbus highlights the current divide between those who see the explorer as a representative of Italian-American history and others horrified by an annual tribute that ignores the natives whose lives and culture were forever changed by colonialism.
Driven by national calls for racial equity, US communities have taken a deeper look at Columbus’s legacy in recent years, combining or replacing it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
On Friday, President Joe Biden issued the first presidential proclamation of “Indigenous Peoples Day,” the most significant push yet for efforts to refocus the federal holiday that celebrates Columbus.
But activists, including members of Native American tribes, said that ending the formal holiday in the name of Columbus has been hampered by politicians and organizations that focus on Italian-American heritage.
“The opposition has tried to paint Columbus as a benevolent man, similar to how white supremacists have painted Robert E. Lee,” said Les Begay, member of the Diné Nation and co-founder of the Illinois Indigenous Peoples Day Coalition. , referring to the Civil War general who led the Confederate Army.
The arrival of Columbus began centuries of exploration and colonization by European nations, bringing violence, disease, and other suffering to the natives already living in the Western Hemisphere.
“Not honoring indigenous peoples on this day just continues to erase our history, our contributions, and the fact that we were the first inhabitants of this country,” Begay said.
Across the country, tension during the two holidays has raged since the early 1990s. Debates over monuments and statues of the Italian explorer tread similar ground, as in Philadelphia, where the city placed a box on top of a statue of Columbus. last year in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer. Protesters opposing racial injustice and police brutality against people of color rallied for months in the summer of 2020.
Philadelphia attorney George Bochetto, who has been fighting Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration to uncover the statue, said Saturday that many felt the efforts to remove it were an attack on Italian-American heritage.
Kenney previously signed an executive order that changes the city’s annual holiday from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. Monday will be the city’s first holiday with the new name.
“We have a mayor who is doing everything possible to attack the Italian-American community, including canceling his parade, removing statues, changing the holiday from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day by decree,” he said. Bochetto.
Kenney spokesman Kevin Lessard said the statue should remain in a box “in the best interest and public safety of all Philadelphians.”
In 2016, Lincoln, Nebraska, joined other cities in adding Indigenous Peoples Day to the calendar on the same date as Columbus Day. Monday’s events will focus on the latest addition, including the unveiling of a statue honoring the first Native American physician, Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte.
Some feel that a divided day causes more damage. Activists plan a small protest in front of the Robert V. Denney Federal Building, calling for an absolute end to the holidays on behalf of Columbus at all levels of government.
“It is obviously absurd to honor indigenous peoples and the man who tortured and murdered their ancestors,” said Jackson Meredith, an organizer. “As far as we are concerned, we will continue to protest until Columbus Day is abolished.”
In New York City, the annual Columbus Day parade returns after a year of in-person absence attributed to the coronavirus pandemic. The parade is touted by some as the world’s largest Columbus Day celebration.
In May, Italian-American activists complained after the Board of Education removed Christopher Columbus Day from the New York City school calendar and replaced it with “Indigenous Peoples Day.” Following the outcry, the schools changed the designation to: “Italian Heritage Day / Indigenous Peoples Day.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio said he supported the compromise.
“We have to honor that day as a day to recognize the contributions of all Italian Americans, so of course, the day should not have arbitrarily changed,” de Blasio said.
Chicago’s annual Columbus Day parade also returns Monday after the pandemic forced the 2020 event that draws 20,000 people to cancel. It’s a vivid reminder of the ongoing fight for three Columbus statues, still in storage around the city after protesters attacked them in the summer of 2020.
In July 2020, Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered the statues to be removed and said the demonstrations were putting protesters and police in danger.
He later created a committee to review the city’s monuments, including the fate of the Columbus monuments. No plans have been publicly announced, but the Italian-American Joint Civic Committee planning the Columbus Day parade this summer sued the city’s park district, demanding that one be restored.
Ron Onesti, president of the organization, said the parade generally draws protesters and hopes for that on Monday as well. He sees the holiday, the parade, and the statues as a celebration of Italian-Americans’ contributions to the United States, not just Columbus.
“The result I am looking for is that our traditions are respected and that the talks continue,” said Onesti on Saturday. “Every plaque that accompanies a statue says it recognizes the contributions of the Italian community. So people have to understand that’s why it’s there, and then let’s sit down and figure out where to go from here. “
Illinois in 2017 designated the last Monday in September as Indigenous Peoples Day, but kept Columbus Day the second Monday in October. A proposal to replace Columbus Day submitted this year has received no action.
Chicago Public Schools voted in 2020 to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, sparking outrage from several Italian-American councilors and groups. The city’s holiday calendar still includes Columbus Day.
Begay, the advocate for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, said the organization decided to focus on changing Columbus Day first in Cook County, hoping it would be an easier path than convincing Chicago or state officials . But so far, members of the county board have not lined up behind the proposal.
“Why are more than 500 years still being forgotten?” Begay said. “Why don’t we have this one day to acknowledge these horrible atrocities committed against the natives?”
Associated Press reporter Lawrence Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.
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