Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day

Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day!

This has been one of the most personally-satisfying victories in the quest for racial justice. Governor Tony Evers signed an executive order declaring that Columbus Day instead be celebrated as Indigenous Peoples' Day last year.

     Why this holiday has been celebrated in the first place is a matter of conjecture that I may never be able to answer. Christopher Columbus discovered the Antilles, not the United States, in 1492. This led to what can only be called a genocide in which 90% of indigenous people were killed and many were enslaved or had their culture wiped out. Across the New World, displacement and destitution seemed almost a stroke of luck. No greater strategy has ever befallen any people in my opinion, and the perpetrators of this crime against humanity are portrayed as heroes, and, while we cannot change our history, we can change the narrative.

     Abolishing Columbus Day and universalizing Indigenous Peoples' Day is a necessary step if we are to recognize our mistake and forge a better future,