The Hypocrisy of a Politically Correct Columbus Day

Flags of the United States of America waved high above the ceremony. On the second Monday of October, 2015 at 11 AM, the National Christopher Columbus Association, in coordination with the National Park Service, celebrated "522 Years of Discovery" by honoring Christopher Columbus at Columbus Plaza in front of Union Station in Washington DC.

In his welcome address, Jamie Keller (Supervisory Park Ranger, National Park Service) said he honored Christopher Columbus because "he went for it." Other speakers from the diplomatic corps of Italy, Spain and the Bahamas, followed and reiterated in some form that Columbus obviously did not "discover America, but…" 

Why America Needs to Remember Columbus Day

There is a movement across the country to re-appropriate Columbus Day as a Native American Heritage Day or Indigenous Peoples Day. Cities like Seattle, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and others have begun this trend, and I am sure other municipalities will soon follow suit.  However, as a native man, I am wary of such actions. Please don't get me wrong. I am all for honoring the native peoples and Indigenous hosts of Turtle Island, but I am hesitant to do so on October 12.