The question of how to commemorate the European-American encounter that began in 1492 is controversial because it goes to the heart of the very nature of the country. Is the United States founded on the idealistic desire of Europeans to flee oppression in Europe to establish a new nation based on freedom and justice? Or is the United States founded by hypocrites who sought rights and liberties and opportunities for themselves which they failed to grant to others? These questions should be answered based on no considerations but the truth and historical accuracy. This would require radical changes in the way the United States celebrates the date and its meaning and significance, for the current commemoration is based on the Eurocentric lie that Christopher Columbus "discovered" a land which had long been inhabited by a well-developed civilization. A truth-based commemoration would portray the European-American encounter as one which developed into the Europeans' imperialistic domination, exploitation and slaughter of Native Americans.
This commemoration should be seen as a kind of soul-cleansing for the nation and a beginning of historical amends to Native Americans. All literate people today are aware that the Christopher Columbus tale is a deliberate deception designed to romanticize the origins of the country and conceal the truth about the brutal way Native Americans were treated. Why continue the charade, particularly insofar as it is perpetuated in schools which are supposed to be the repositories of the truth? As Harjo writes, "Little kids are told big lies in the name of education" (Harjo 32). If children continue to be taught such lies and see them celebrated, in fact, then those children could begin to doubt their entire education as far as history goes.
Perhaps the widespread revelation of the falsity of the Columbus myth is the major reason that the holiday has increasingly lost its significance as a cultural and hi...