I was excited to read Howard Zinn’s chapter from A People’s History of the United States, “Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress,” as I was an avid reader of Zinn’s work while taking history classes in high school. We had also discussed the controversy of Columbus Day during Leadership and the Humanities, which I really enjoyed, as it is such an important topic. What many Americans do not realize are that Indigenous peoples continue to be among the most marginalized in our country after centuries of unwarranted violence and discrimination. Columbus, upon encountering the Arawak Indians, exhibited an extreme sense of paternalism as he made assumptions about a community he did not belong to. His report that the Arawak Indians “‘are so naive and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no. To the contrary, they offer to share with anyone…'” (Zinn, 3). This mentality was yet the beginning of the violence and mass murder the Arawaks faced– with 250,000 Indigenous people killed within two years (Zinn, 5). I was extremely upset, yet not surprised, to read about this violence fueled by Columbus and other Spaniards’ racism.
There is often debate surrounding historical events, such as Columbus Day and The First Thanksgiving, being taught to elementary and middle school students. We ask ethical questions like, “Is it ethical to tell children about a mass genocide?” and while I agree that discussing murder and bloodshed may be inappropriate, I don’t think Columbus should be represented as a heroic figure. It was not until taking AP United States History in high school that I was finally told the “truth” about the violence against Indigenous Nations or the “truth” of historical figures who were in fact white supremacists or slaveowners. I wish I hadn’t had to undergo that epiphany when I was 16-17 years old to understand the truth of figures such as Columbus. As I mentioned, I do not mean we should teach kindergartners about a mass genocide, but they should not be fooled into thinking Columbus deserves his own holiday. Educators should work up to the maturity levels of the students and build on concepts they learned in previous years. As Zinn delineates, the historian’s distortion occurred when Columbus was emphasized as a hero and the mass genocide that took place was downplayed (Zinn, 9). And we are prone to thinking through the lens of the leaders/heroes of the time, but as Zinn says, we must not fall prone to this way of thinking, and it is up to us to reverse that.
Why couldn’t have it been Indigenous People’s Day in the first place?
I totally agree with what you’re saying about how long it takes for us to learn some of the more difficult truths of American history. After my senior year of high school, I went on a service trip to an Indian reservation in Nebraska and learned so much. The group living on that reservation had a 99% unemployment rate and the church we stayed had several instances of women being kidnapped off the property and even a murder that took place right outside of the church. I think it took that experience for me to really understand how difficult the lives of Indigenous people are, something I should have learned far earlier.
I agree that the real facts of history should be mentioned and taught at an earlier age than what is already being taught right now. It wasn’t until highschool when I learned about Columbus’ doings against the Native people and their land. To prevent this knowledge is placing these figures of murder and violence on a pedestal and the only way to to accept the truth is by acknowledging their real actions and its meanings.
I completely agree that history should be taught differently in schools, so that we aren’t having these epiphanies as teenagers that the world is a lot crueler than we had previously learned. I think that adults often don’t understand just how much younger kids can comprehend. Obviously teaching second graders about the details of mass genocide would be inappropriate, but teaching kids one version of history and then hitting them with the truth when they’re older is not good education.