|
COLUMBUS DAY REDISCOVERED… Columbus Day is for some a day of celebration and for others a day of mourning. It is controversial because it is a time that is viewed as liberating and as enslaving. Most Native Americans view it as a day of sorrow. For it is a day hundreds of years ago that their generosity was taken advantage of by those they trusted.
John Mohawk of the Seneca in 1992 had the following quote, "Christopher Columbus is a symbol, not of a man, but of imperialism.... Imperialism and colonialism are not something that happened decades ago or generations ago, but they are still happening now with the exploitation of people. ... The kind of thing that took place long ago in which people were dispossessed from their land and forced out of subsistence economies and into market economies -- those processes are still happening today." What is imperialism? It is the practice of one country extending its control over the territory, political system, or economic life of another country. This practice results in a relationship of political, and/or economic, and/or cultural domination and subordination between geographical areas and peoples. So, the celebration of Christopher Columbus in 1492 reaching the Americas does not bring celebration to many but calls into question another way of viewing the event and a new reflection and rediscovery of why freedom and economic development for some means enslavement and poverty for others. Article by CherokeeCloud Written October 9, 2006 |
