The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously Friday to change the name of the Federal Holiday in their city from Columbus Day to "Indigenous People's Day." The debate over this grew white hot as the 500th anniversary of Columbus discovering America approached in October, 1992.
Let me be honest. Columbus is a bit overrated. He thought he landed in India. That's why he called Native Americans Indians. Not only was he lost, he didn't know he was lost. He wasn't looking to discover the Americas, they were an unknown continental obstruction between him and his destination; India. All of that said; Christopher Columbus is not responsible for the centuries of atrocities against Native Americans that would follow his voyages.
He discovered the continent that would be come home to the greatest nation on Earth: The United States of America. Yes, with all its sins, including treatment of Native Americans, it's still the greatest nation on earth. There was a day not that long ago when we understood that discovery was worth celebrating. Interesting how liberals embrace modern Euro-socialism but demonize our nation's beginnings for their "Euro-centrism."
Photo credit: By steve lyon from minneapolis, mn, usa (DSC_1425.JPG) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons