"Why do we celebrate Columbus Day? On October 12, 1492, an explorer accidentally landed in The Bahamas, introduced smallpox and almost completely extinguished several civilizations.

The introduction of smallpox to the Americas is presumably what wiped out 90-95 percent of the native population. Christopher Columbus' slavery in the Caribbean dropped populations from millions down to hundreds of thousands.

Ironically, The Bahamas, Costa Rica, much of Latin America, Colombia, Venezuela and of course the United States, celebrate the day Columbus brought this blight to their New World.

However, there is some retaliation against this bizarre holiday.

In Berkeley, Calif. you will find Indigenous People's Day, complete with a pow-wow and a Native American Market.

Hawaii celebrates Discoverer's Day, where they include John Cook, who put Hawaii's coordinates on the map.

Or if you're in Denver, you'll come across the oldest Columbus Day parade, which Native American groups have been protesting for decades."

Get the Story:
Sophie Siemion: Columbus Day celebrates a tyrant (The Olympic College Olympian 10/14)

Other Stories:
Event offers another version of Columbus Day (The Iowa City Press-Citizen 10/14)
Protesters: Indigenous peoples, not Columbus, should be celebrated on holiday (The Lawrence Journal-World 10/14)
Reflecting on Columbus Day (The Eureka Times-Standard 10/14)
UAF group celebrates Native history on Anti-Columbus Day (The Fairbanks Daily News Miner 10/14)
Students protest Columbus Day, share culture on Quad (The Daily Orange 10/14)
Group discounts Columbus, honors American Indians (The New Mexico Daily Lobo 10/14)

Related Stories:
Opinion: The myth of Christopher Columbus (10/13)