Every October, the United States observes the federal holiday of Columbus Day, commemorating Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage to the New World. Established in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress, Columbus Day was widely celebrated for recognizing Columbus’s achievements and his role in European exploration. However, in recent years, discussions surrounding Columbus’s legacy have become more complex due to the impact his arrival had on Indigenous peoples. Consequently, many states and communities, including Texas, have expanded their conversation about Columbus’s legacy to incorporate Indigenous history.
“Columbus was celebrated for a long time for his discovery,” Collin College Adjunct Professor of History and Native American Morgan Trout said. “However, now that Indigenous studies as a historical topic has really taken off and Indigenous people have created their own movements against the appropriation of their culture, the public opinion of Columbus has been drastically changing. I do think Columbus is still celebrated in public opinion for discovering a new continent, but I feel that his name is now associated with the deaths, displacement, and suffering that the Indigenous communities have experienced.
This growing awareness of the Indigenous perspective has led to movements advocating for replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which celebrates Native American history, culture, and contributions.
“Native Americans deserve to be recognized,” Trout said. “Indigenous peoples had civilizations, settlements, cultures, languages, and more well before any Europeans arrived. Therefore, the continent was not ‘discovered’ by Columbus—it was just unknown to Europeans.”
For many Native American communities and Native people, including sophomore Hailey Buster, Indigenous Peoples’ Day provides a sense of validation and recognition.
“We didn’t get rights until the 1940s or 50s,” Buster said. “We are finally getting recognized, and our voice is finally getting heard, and for that reason, I personally feel proud because we aren’t being covered up by a man who slaughtered so many diverse tribes. Instead, people get to learn more about us.”
For Trout, Indigenous Peoples’ Day holds personal significance as it offers long-overdue recognition of Native contributions to the country’s history that are often overlooked in schools.
“I am personally only a small percentage of Cherokee. My grandparents were more involved with Native culture and visiting reservations,” Trout said. “But I feel that Indigenous People’s Day provides a lot more recognition to Native populations that they deserve. Native Americans helped build America into what it is today, and they have experienced massive amounts of suffering and very little recognition. Even in many schools’ curriculum, the Native American history is minimal or depicts them as helpless and having disappeared, which is not accurate.”
Despite this progress, senior and Native American Logan Cox feels that Indigenous Peoples’ Day still does not receive the attention it deserves.
“It [Indigenous People’s Day] does not receive enough attention and it should because the culture of Native Americans is just as defining for America as Columbus is,” Cox said.
Trout believes there is a need for greater education and awareness around Native American history, particularly how European colonization has continued to impact Indigenous communities.
“I feel as if everyone should better educate themselves on Native communities and how they were affected by European emigration, especially how Native communities are still negatively affected today,” Trout said. “Doing so on Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a good start to being better allies and supporters of Native communities.”
