Happy Columbus Day
 

Columbus Day is always sad for us because it’s the day we close up our camp on Cow Island for the season. But I always remember this poem about Columbus that we learned in elementary school, so it’s not all bad! Happy Columbus Day.

In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.

He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.

A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.

Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.

Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.

Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.

October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!

"Indians! Indians!" Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.

But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.

The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.

Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he'd been told.

He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.

The first American? No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.

Time to change this holiday to :

Native American Day.

Actually, in many places it has been changed;

In Oregon it is now Indigenous Peoples Day; in South Dakota it is Native Americans Day.

see: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...here-you-live/

Really!!!!!!! Ugh!!!

Nope - can't do that. Someone might be offended. For instance, it is also National Coming Out Day. I'm not joking - google it.

I hope NH keeps it Columbus Day.

I grew up in Iroquois country. In the 1950s we began learning about "the Indians" in kindergarten and we learned about them every year after that. Funny thing, though: we were never taught what happened to Native Americans. There was only one Native American family in my town. What happened to the rest? By the end of high school we still didn't know the answer to that. Even stranger, it never occurred to us to ask what happened to them. They were "just gone," an ancient people that disappeared.

In those same years, a close friend was growing up in Germany in the 1950s. At that time, the teaching of the history of the Holocaust was forbidden in German schools. My friend grew up knowing very little about the Holocaust. What had happened to the Jews in her town? They had "just disappeared."

These are not events to celebrate. October 11 should be a day of remembrance, learning about the fate of Native Americans, and reflection on what that fate says about our founding values. Are they still our values today? Do we still believe it's OK to rob people of their land, force them out of their home territory, and enslave and kill them? If we don't believe that, what are we doing to eradicate such ideas? What should we be doing about the impacts of our past actions, that endure to the present day?

Excellent perspective for this day !

Great points, Sailin. It's sad that some cannot recognize that's it's possible for Columbus to have been a great explorer and also for Native Americans to have been completed screwed. I think most of us on the forum are really lucky that Columbus came here, but we can still regret a lot of the stuff many of our ancestors did.

That is exactly how to learn from history. There is good and bad (sometimes the bad was an acceptable practice in its time) and one event can certainly have both. Respect the context it came from and learn from the past not erase the past

Indians !
 

In 2019, we spent the day (Nov. 10) at the Pequod Reservation and museum for their "pow wow" celebrating their history and culture. They were also, as great Americans, celebrating Veteran's Day, and because we were veterans, we got free admission and a free meal (chili). They were very proud to be Americans as well as Indians. These folks were very careful to refer to themselves as Indians. "Native Americans" was not part of the vocabulary--that's for the white folks who think they should feel guilty about stuff from 200 years ago. Those who don't want to recognize that there were raids and violence from both sides. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Indians were pretty quiet except when they raided other tribes, stole the women and made the losers slaves.

Let's call it Explorer's Day. We can honor Sacajawea and Leif Erikson, as well as Columbus.

Depends on which propaganda you read as to how you fall in line on this. But keep in mind, it is all propaganda. Columbus was a great man, but I'm sure he was not perfect. The native americans then were great people, but they weren't perfect either. There is a lot of shame and blame to go around.