Columbus Day is today, so take out your history books as I guide you through the truth of why we even celebrate him and what we should be celebrating.

As we all know, Columbus came over to America with his three ships, founded America, and all those cheery things you heard in kindergarten. But the real history is so, so much worse. Of course, as most of us know now, Columbus didn’t really land in what is today the USA; he didn’t even make it to the mainland. Columbus landed in what is now Cuba. And instead of the peaceful and loving image of the “first” person to discover North America, he instead asked the kind Taíno people for gold, which they had none. So as any good fellow would, Columbus committed crimes against more than 2/3rds of their population. You can read more about that HERE.

But why do we remember him so fondly? Well, that’s easy to explain. Italians did not want to be discriminated against… Okay, maybe I should explain a bit. Many Italians fled Italy and moved to America, much like many other races during this time. And just like those other races, they weren’t seen as truly white. They were wrongfully mistreated when getting to America. So the bright Italian people more or less lied to the American people through a book that mistook Columbus’s story. Americans didn’t care though, seeing such a cool and meaningful story about their own country is all that really mattered, even if it wasn’t based on fact. You can read more about this by clicking HERE and HERE.

Now that we know why we celebrate Columbus Day and how it’s kinda a lie, let me tell you an alternative.

Instead of remembering the guy that slaughtered innocent people, maybe we could remember those innocent people by acknowledging Indigenous Peoples Day. Take time out of your day and learn about the hundreds of tribes around our nation. I personally am a Kumeyaay Indian, and I’d love it if more people knew about our culture or at least weren’t so alien to it.

So instead of celebrating Columbus Day this year, try learning about the people that truly found our nation so long ago.