For most students, a day off from school is a godsend. It means sleeping in, spending the day with friends and having more time to fend off the never−ending schoolwork. Columbus Day is no exception. However, a day of Tufts students lounging on the quad and playing Frisbee holds a different type of significance for some people.
Native Americans remember Christopher Columbus for a lot more than just the "discovery" of America, but instead for the genocide and manipulation of their people. In his quest for gold and glory, Columbus and his fellow Europeans pillaged indigenous villages, killed and raped their inhabitants and introduced new diseases that caused havoc among the tribes. On top of that, Columbus enslaved and brought over 1,000 natives back to Europe in conditions that killed all but 300, launching a long tradition of slavery and abuse. This destruction was so great that just 100 years after the arrival of Columbus, as many as 90 million Native Americans had died. Columbus even wrote about these atrocities in his personal diary, effectively recording the exploitation and mistreatment of indigenous people.
Yet this confirmed genocide is overlooked by most, and there is an entire day off in honor of his name. The states South Dakota and Hawaii have recognized the controversies associated with Columbus, and they have changed the holiday to Native American Day and Discoverer's Day, respectively. Cities such as Berkeley, Sebastopol and Santa Cruz, Calif., have Indigenous People's Day. I think that Tufts should seriously consider following suit. Most students won't know the difference, but it is a huge step for those of Native American descent and could help spread a bit of historical accuracy.
You might be asking, why should we care about events that occurred hundreds of years ago? Because every figure that we recognize in history says something about America as a country and her ideals. There are only two holidays that bear the name of an individual, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Columbus Day. These holidays honor a man who fought for the freedom and equality of an oppressed people and gave his life for the cause, and a man who was responsible for starting the Transatlantic slave trade and one of the greatest genocides in history.
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Meghan Gillis is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.
