By now, anyone with access to the Internet has seen the e-card poking fun at today's celebration of Christopher Columbus' life ("Let's celebrate Columbus Day by walking into somebody's house and telling them we live there now"). But if honoring a man so closely tied to the genocide of indigenous people doesn't sit well with you, is there anything you can do besides make cynical jokes about it?
A YouTube video circulating today appeals to viewers to petition for a National Holiday for Native Americans. In it, a diverse chorus of voices delivers this message:
"With all due respect … there's an ugly truth that has overlooked for way too long. Columbus committed heinous crimes against the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and millions of natives throughout the Americas, and Columbus set the stage for the slave trade in the new world … so please, please reconsider whether this is a man you want to honor … Take the day to learn the whole story … Petition for a nationally recognized indigenous holiday."
Watch it here, courtesy of the Nation.
Read more at the Nation.
In other news: California Governor Signs Second Half of Dream Act.