MISSOULA — As an Indigenous person in America, I often wondered who Christopher Columbus was. It wasn’t until I was older that I learned the true history of Christopher Columbus, so who really was he?
David Beck, a history professor from the University of Illinois, and a former Native American studies professor at the University of Montana, says, "From the perspective of Indigenous people, he is a symbol of genocide."
Christopher Columbus has often been widely celebrated as the discoverer of the Americas, despite Indigenous tribes already calling this land home.
When Columbus landed on Caribbean islands and later Central and South American, he began to take over the land and the people.
Beck said the true legacy of Columbus is the killing of Indigenous people - by him in Central and South American, and by subsequent explorers from Europe to what is now the United States.
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“He kidnapped more people than he was able to fit on his ships, said Beck. "He put them to work as slaves in mines. He hunted down the women for sport and the men for sport, he murdered them, he fed them to dogs.”
Columbus Day became a federally recognized holiday in the 1800s, but centuries later, Indigenous people started to push back calling it a disgraceful holiday.
Montana Senate District 50 representative Shane Morigeau, who is a CSKT tribal member, has been working to establish Indigenous People’s Day and to educate Montanans about the true impact of Columbus.
“We set out initially to, you know, and I've carried bills, several times to try and replace Columbus Day," Morigeau says, "and we haven't had any luck doing that."
Morigeau says it is important for Indigenous People to be celebrated and for everyone to know what Columbus meant to them.
"We set out to do that because that the person at Columbus is, is really to us is it's a demeaning holiday, to a lot of Indigenous people."
Morigeau says he’s now proposing legislation to recognize Indigenous Peoples day on Columbus Day. The choice of what holiday to honor will then be left up to the greater population.
"I really, what I myself and so many others really want people to, to get take away from Indigenous Peoples Day is just a learning opportunity, the opportunity to learn about true and accurate history to learn about your neighbors, your family yourself to come together and learn about different cultures … take that serious when we say we want it to be a day that represents everybody and pulls everyone together and unifies us." - Montana Senate District 50 representative and CSKT tribal member Shane Morigeau
Celebrating Indigenous People’s Day may look different for everyone. Even if you are not Indigenous, there are still ways to get involved. One way is to study the history — like Professor Beck, who chooses to celebrate Indigenous People on this day.
“But I think it's important to think about the way that that holiday impacts Indigenous communities and the way indigenous people think about that, said Beck, "I mean, it's really a holiday that honors the beginning of the genocide that's been so hurtful to Indigenous people.”
Approximately two dozen states do not celebrate Indigenous Peoples day which is still widely adopted across the country. Indigenous people hope for it to become federally recognized.
