Ward Churchill, being the harsh and provocative writer that he is, wrote “Confronting Columbus Day” which talks about his views on the Columbus Day Parade. In his essay he states that the people who attend and celebrate the Columbus Day Parade are much like the followers of the Ku Klux Klan or like the American Nazi Party. Churchill feels that Christopher Columbus should not be praised for coming into America and enslaving and killing many of the Native Americans. He accuses Columbus of genocide of the Native people so there should be no reason for a day to be dedicated to him. On page 53 in paragraph 2, Churchill compares Columbus to Heinrich Himmler, a Nazi leader much like Adolf Hitler.
I can definitely see where Churchill is coming from because the Nazis were responsible for the deaths of a large amount of Jews and Columbus is also resposible for the deaths of a large amount of Native Americans. I also believe since Christopher Columbus came and discovered the Americas, this overshadows the fact that he caused the death of many Native Americans. It was even noted that Columbus brought with him a fleet of seventeen ships to eliminate and “civilize” the native people. Even though Colunbus Day is still a national holiday and we have a special parade for it, that does not mean what Columbus did while discovering the Americas was just. Just because most Native Americans live on reservations and do not have much of a voice in scoiety does not mean this issue should go unheard. On the otherhand, a holiday that has been going on for such a long time will be very hard to change and I am almost certain it will stick around.
