Reflections on the yearly Columbus Day Controversy

[Guest]

Well here it goes again, another year where people debate endlessly about Columbus. Many of my indigenous brothers and sisters protest any celebration, as seen in Colorado the other day. I too am angered when I read about the European inhumanity toward the First peoples of this continent. There is a long litany of betrayal, coercion to assimilate, cultural and physical genocide. My great great grandfather belonged to the so-called civilized tribes, meaning Indians who adopted European ways. The Cherokee and Chocktaw were incredibly prosperous and wealthy in states such as Tennessee and the Carolinas, owning plantations and (sadly) Black slaves. They had (and still have) their own alphabet created by the genius Sequoyah (some letters look a bit like the Georgian and Armenian alphabets, weird!). Nevertheless, they were forced to relocate to Oklahoma. Numerous people died on the long march known as the Trail of Tears. I find too many parallels with the Armenians being marched by the Turks to the Syrian desert.

 

Yet, I have to stand back and realize that, ultimately I would not be here writing were it not for Columbus. For better or worse, he brought about an encounter between two populations of the earth that had been cut off from each other for 20,000 some years. This encounter has often been bloody, and the effects are still being suffered by Indigenous peoples in the form of alcoholism, obesity and diabetes, ills that were unknown before the coming of the Europeans. It is very difficult for me to come to terms with this as I am in many ways a product of this clash.