Indigenous Peoples' Day
13/10/25 01:36
I’m pretty good at remembering things that I memorized as an elementary student. I regularly recite Psalm 23, and I can play my piano recital piece from the fourth grade. But I only know the opening couplet of the children’s poem by Jean Marzollo, which leads me to believe that I never memorized the entire poem. The opening couplet, however, was sufficient to remember the year Christopher Columbus arrived in Central America, likely a question asked on history exams. Here is the poem as it appears on the Poem Analysis website:
In 1492 – Columbus sailed the ocean blue
Jean Marzollo
In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.
He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.
A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.
Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.
Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.
Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.
October twelve their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!
"Indians! Indians!" Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.
But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.
The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.
Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he'd been told.
He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.
The first American? No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.
The romanticized version of history presented by the poem ignores much of the authentic history of Columbus. Describing the four voyages he made to the Americas as “trading gold” is not an accurate description of the exploitation, enslavement, and murder of indigenous Americans that were part of the seizures of God that were part of the beginning of the colonization of the Americas. Born in Italy, Columbus sailed under the flag of Spain. He explored parts of the Caribbean, the coasts of Central and South America, and the Gulf of Mexico. His treatment of indigenous people was brutal. He was removed from his post as governor of Hispaniola due to his harsh treatment of the people.
What followed was catastrophic for the people who had lived in the Americas since time immemorial. European exploration and colonization resulted in the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas. For indigenous Americans, violence, exploitation, enslavement, harsh labor, and diseases, including smallpox, resulted in massive declines in population.
It wasn’t as simple as a children’s poem. Many states and local governments have taken action to address the complexity of history.
In the late 1980s, Governor George Mickelson urged the South Dakota legislature to seek reconciliation between Native Americans and whites. The history of relations between the two races in South Dakota was filled with violence and injustice. In response, the South Dakota legislature declared 1990 a “Year of Reconciliation.” It also renamed Columbus Day to Native American Day. The measure passed unanimously. That’s correct. There were no votes against the measure in the legislature. In South Dakota, it is Native American Day, not Columbus Day.
Over a dozen states and 130 local governments have chosen not to celebrate Columbus Day or to replace it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In Bellingham, the city just south of where we live, the day is officially observed as Coast Salish People’s Day.
In 2021, President Biden was the first U.S. President to issue a formal presidential proclamation for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, designating the day to honor Native Americans and their histories and cultures. President Trump, however, has issued a Columbus Day proclamation, saying he is “reclaiming” the explorer’s legacy. It seems that his education and understanding of American history are still at the level of a children’s poem. Romanticizing Columbus and calling him “the Original American Hero” does not change the harsh, brutal history of colonization. It does not erase the massacres and enslavement. It does not eliminate the rich cultural and spiritual histories of the people who lived on this continent before what he calls “discovery.”
Despite the rhetoric coming from the White House, learning the truth of history is not an “attack on history.” Instead, the way history was taught when the president was a child was inaccurate and misleading. Embracing those teachings is ignoring the truth. Furthermore, a presidential proclamation does not erase the work of reconciliation by many people, nor does it change the historical fact of the South Dakota legislature’s unanimous decision to rename the day, or the fact that other states and cities have followed that example.
Our indigenous brothers and sisters have known centuries of exploitation and oppression. While they view the actions of the sitting president as a setback, they understand that the struggle for freedom, justice, and historical truth is a long journey. As my friend Matt Iron Hawk said, “We’re still here and we’re not going anywhere.”
Today is a day of mixed celebration for our country. Some will observe Columbus Day. Some will observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The complexity of celebrations reflects the complexity of our history.
The simple children’s poem recognizes that Columbus didn’t understand where he had gone and that he gave the wrong name to the people he encountered. “India, the land was not,” it says. The poem acknowledges the hospitality of the people who first greeted Columbus, though it does not mention his cruelty and murder in the process of extracting wealth to take back to Spain.
Today is a day to reflect on history, consider how it is taught, and understand how it is both understood and misunderstood in our country. It is a good day for respectful debate about the stories of natives and settlers and the complex relationship of colonization. It is a day to go beyond the children’s poem, perhaps even a day for a new poem.
In 1492 – Columbus sailed the ocean blue
Jean Marzollo
In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.
He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.
A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.
Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.
Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.
Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.
October twelve their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!
"Indians! Indians!" Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.
But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.
The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.
Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he'd been told.
He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.
The first American? No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.
The romanticized version of history presented by the poem ignores much of the authentic history of Columbus. Describing the four voyages he made to the Americas as “trading gold” is not an accurate description of the exploitation, enslavement, and murder of indigenous Americans that were part of the seizures of God that were part of the beginning of the colonization of the Americas. Born in Italy, Columbus sailed under the flag of Spain. He explored parts of the Caribbean, the coasts of Central and South America, and the Gulf of Mexico. His treatment of indigenous people was brutal. He was removed from his post as governor of Hispaniola due to his harsh treatment of the people.
What followed was catastrophic for the people who had lived in the Americas since time immemorial. European exploration and colonization resulted in the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas. For indigenous Americans, violence, exploitation, enslavement, harsh labor, and diseases, including smallpox, resulted in massive declines in population.
It wasn’t as simple as a children’s poem. Many states and local governments have taken action to address the complexity of history.
In the late 1980s, Governor George Mickelson urged the South Dakota legislature to seek reconciliation between Native Americans and whites. The history of relations between the two races in South Dakota was filled with violence and injustice. In response, the South Dakota legislature declared 1990 a “Year of Reconciliation.” It also renamed Columbus Day to Native American Day. The measure passed unanimously. That’s correct. There were no votes against the measure in the legislature. In South Dakota, it is Native American Day, not Columbus Day.
Over a dozen states and 130 local governments have chosen not to celebrate Columbus Day or to replace it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In Bellingham, the city just south of where we live, the day is officially observed as Coast Salish People’s Day.
In 2021, President Biden was the first U.S. President to issue a formal presidential proclamation for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, designating the day to honor Native Americans and their histories and cultures. President Trump, however, has issued a Columbus Day proclamation, saying he is “reclaiming” the explorer’s legacy. It seems that his education and understanding of American history are still at the level of a children’s poem. Romanticizing Columbus and calling him “the Original American Hero” does not change the harsh, brutal history of colonization. It does not erase the massacres and enslavement. It does not eliminate the rich cultural and spiritual histories of the people who lived on this continent before what he calls “discovery.”
Despite the rhetoric coming from the White House, learning the truth of history is not an “attack on history.” Instead, the way history was taught when the president was a child was inaccurate and misleading. Embracing those teachings is ignoring the truth. Furthermore, a presidential proclamation does not erase the work of reconciliation by many people, nor does it change the historical fact of the South Dakota legislature’s unanimous decision to rename the day, or the fact that other states and cities have followed that example.
Our indigenous brothers and sisters have known centuries of exploitation and oppression. While they view the actions of the sitting president as a setback, they understand that the struggle for freedom, justice, and historical truth is a long journey. As my friend Matt Iron Hawk said, “We’re still here and we’re not going anywhere.”
Today is a day of mixed celebration for our country. Some will observe Columbus Day. Some will observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The complexity of celebrations reflects the complexity of our history.
The simple children’s poem recognizes that Columbus didn’t understand where he had gone and that he gave the wrong name to the people he encountered. “India, the land was not,” it says. The poem acknowledges the hospitality of the people who first greeted Columbus, though it does not mention his cruelty and murder in the process of extracting wealth to take back to Spain.
Today is a day to reflect on history, consider how it is taught, and understand how it is both understood and misunderstood in our country. It is a good day for respectful debate about the stories of natives and settlers and the complex relationship of colonization. It is a day to go beyond the children’s poem, perhaps even a day for a new poem.
