Native News Network

2003

Christopher Francis Princetonian Columnist

Many will celebrate Christopher Columbus today, five hundred and eleven years after his arrival Some of us are told his arrival marked the "discovery" of a new continent and a new nation without mention of Columbus' legacy of colonization and exploitation. Christopher Columbus washed ashore frightened and lost, he destroyed lives, enslaved, tortured, killed and oppressed. The celebration of Columbus on this day seriously questions our capacity for human emotion and sympathy. Rather than honor Columbus' actions and image we should honor the brave and innocent men, women and children who died and those who survived his influence of centuries of conquest, colonization, slavery and religious persecution.

 If we celebrate, we must also remember. We must remember all those who died from violent and destructive attacks on our soil and to those who died defending it. The arrival of Columbus marked a huge turning point in American history, a history that includes Native Americans, Western-European colonizers and the Unites States. The colonization of the Americas was extremely bloody. The struggle for power and domination in the "new world" destroyed the souls of those unable to defend themselves against such militarily aggressive authorities. Too many innocent men, women and children were violently oppressed and killed and such acts of terror need to be remembered and not celebrated.

 The battle for indigenous survival continued well after the colonizing period and eventually all Indian people began fighting the same enemy. After centuries of fighting each other, Indian people and the United States agreed to live in peace. Reluctantly, the United States government rightfully agreed to protect and to provide for the needs of Indian people and recognized the sovereign status of over 500 Indian nations. Today, Indian nations across the United States are fighting legal and political battles to hold the U.S. government accountable for the agreements previously made to them in exchange for the land and resources that have made the United States of America the strongest military and economic power in the world. The government-to-government relationship between Indian nations and the federal government is unequal and unfair because it has become a government-over-government monopolistic enterprise of abuse and unjustified neglect.   Indian people have the same rights as all citizens of the United States, but too often these rights do not protect their desire to preserve Native languages and cultures. Indian people simply want to teach younger generations their heritage, while having the resources and rights to maintain their culture. They want the right to determine their own destiny without the fear of having something taken from them. Native Americans constitute a larger percentage of the U.S. armed forces, proportionately, than other groups. The duty to defend and protect against attacks on American forces and on American soil is highly felt in Indian communities because Indian people are committed to defending their elders and their children from the evils out to destroy them and their way of life.

 Indian people have survived centuries of mistreatment and disregard for their way of life. The celebration of Christopher Columbus only justifies unethical and immoral acts against humanity. Although the image of Columbus may represent discovery and conquest, the image of Columbus to the indigenous people of the Americas, Africa and all colonized continents in the world, is of countless souls and bodies beaten to death for power, economic exploitation and religious domination. These souls deserve a sincere apology for attempts to celebrate such hate and violent disregard for their culture, race, religion and simple existence. The celebration of ethnic genocide and disregard for human rights committed against Indian people is gravely disrespectful and hurtful. Rather than celebrate this evil man, we all must remember the millions of indigenous people who had their lives violently stolen after his arrival.

 Our future as a free and just nation should not include the praise for or glorification of Christopher Columbus, but it should include the story of the Indian fight for survival and struggle for peace. In a world mentally, physically and spiritually scarred by such hate and evil, we must remain united. We must all unite to protect our rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as members of this great nation and of the free world. Let us unite to remember all those who died for these rights and condemn all those who did nothing but fight to destroy them. On behalf of all Native people, I ask you, today, to remember those who are no longer with us and to celebrate the survival of those of us who are still here.