As an American, there are few things in my country’s history that I am as ashamed of as our treatment of American Indians. There is no excuse for the disaster, disease and degradation to which our forefathers and the European explorers who preceded them subjected entire populations of indigenous peoples. As Americans, we all share in the culpability that naturally flows from such a grave breach of humanity.
In discussing issues of American Indian history, politics or welfare, we must acknowledge unconditionally the injustice that American Indians have faced for centuries as a result of New World expansionism and American prejudice, or we cannot proceed with any merit or legitimacy whatsoever, no matter the caliber of our thinking.
So, it is with an understanding of all the aforementioned that I say this, respectfully, to Carina Miller and to anybody else who wants to give me a one-way ticket to my homeland — you better make sure it is domestic.
My ancestors may have come from other places around the world, but I was born in this country and I am, as an individual, a native American just as much as anybody else born in this land. When my forefathers came to America in search of better lives, they found their coveted prosperity in the arms of others here long before them. Their crime was not in the reaching for betterment, but in the uninvited taking of that betterment from the already-settled peoples of the New World.
And that is the basis for the controversy of Columbus Day. Certainly, Columbus Day intends to celebrate the spirit of discovery and exploration that bridged the gap between two mutually unknown worlds. Those who support the continued recognition of Christopher Columbus and his voyage across the Atlantic must also recognize the inseparable connection between that bold voyage and the willful mass destruction that followed as a result.
On the other hand, those who oppose the recognition of Christopher Columbus as anything but a terrorist cannot reasonably depict the millions upon millions who celebrate the day as de facto supporters of the mass holocaust that followed Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. If anything, we should recognize Columbus Day as a sober reminder of the constant struggle in human nature between good and evil.
We should see Columbus as an example of the dichotomy between principles and practice. He embarked on a mission of lofty purpose and high ideals, hoping to achieve mutual enlightenment for two disconnected parts of a growing world. The dream brimmed with promise and showcased human capacity, but the reality used the best of human nature to perpetrate the worst.
In so many ways, the story of what followed nullified the best wishes of the journey that came before. So let us celebrate the journey and mourn the devastation. Let us not waste the lesson of Columbus Day by turning it into a divisive tug-of-war, but rather let us use the day as a means for achieving the cultural exchange and human collaboration that Columbus and future European seafarers never brought to life.
And let us mourn the deep and lasting devastation unleashed on indigenous peoples by working to preserve their history and honor the unique cultures that they left behind.
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Columbus Day poses constant struggle
Daily Emerald
October 13, 2009
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