"The most disturbing fact is that outside the Native American circle there seems to be very few who actually understand and took the time to learn who Christopher Columbus really was. The fact that we “officially celebrate” Columbus exhibits a demonstrable failure in a universal human acknowledgement of the proliferation of genocide, slavery and hegemony introduced into the Western Hemisphere by this individual.

Every society and cultural group in America understands the horrors of African slavery and the Jewish holocaust.

Would we ever have a holiday honoring John Hawkins, who brought over the first boat load of slaves in 1619? African slavery resulting in: not only the dehumanizing and degradation of millions; but even millions more who would die during the middle passage. Today in the U.S., the widely used maxims call slavery “a stain in our history” and “a dark chapter in our society.”"

Get the Story:
Larry Spotted Crow Mann: Last Thoughts on Columbus Day—For This Year, at Least (Indian Country Today 10/10)