October 27, 2023                                                                                                                                                             Zakk Uytingban | Staff Writer

Many people around the United States view Christopher Columbus as an enemy. Columbus Day is a U.S federal holiday that commemorates Christopher Columbus’ founding of America. But by many, he was seen as a colonizer rather than a discoverer. I personally believe that Christopher Columbus Day should be replaced with Indigenous people’s day. Columbus mistreated the natives when he visited the United States. 

In an article by CNN titled “Why Christopher Columbus wasn’t the hero we learned about in school,” they state, “Throughout his years in the Americas, Columbus forced natives to work for the sake of profits. Later, he sent thousands of Taino “Indians” to Spain to be sold, and many of them died during the journey. The natives who weren’t sold into slavery were forced to look for gold in mines and work on plantations” (Lee, 2020).

He forced many natives to work for profit and even sold them into slavery. Many of them did not survive the journey to Spain. Those who weren’t sold had to work in mines and plantations. It is important to acknowledge and learn how bad of a person Columbus really was. Lack of care for the natives is a big reason as to why Columbus day should be replaced.

Columbus and the European settlers brought in sicknesses. According to the article "How the Columbian Exchange Brought Globalization—And Disease," Pruitt states, “The pigs aboard Columbus' ships in 1493 immediately spread swine flu, which sickened Columbus and other Europeans and proved deadly to the native Taino population on Hispaniola, who had no prior exposure to the virus” (2023). Unfortunately, the native Taino population had no immunity to the virus and suffered greatly between different populations. It’s a tragic consequence of the encounter between different populations.

There are many opinions surfaced on the internet about what holiday we should celebrate. 11th grade student, Jancy Baguhin, when asked what holiday we should celebrate and why, said, “I think Columbus day should not be celebrated because of how he treated the natives; we should appreciate the natives that first step foot into the US instead.” Another 11th grade student, Santiago Esparza, when asked the same question claims, “From what I have heard about Columbus and the horrible things he’s done, I feel as Indigenous people’s day should be celebrated over Columbus Day.” 

I feel that we should not celebrate anybody who has negatively impacted others, which is exactly what Columbus has done. Instead, many people should take a deeper look into what he has done and evaluate the problems he’s caused. I think every one of us should celebrate Indigenous People’s Day and get rid of Columbus Day for good.