Once again it's Columbus Day, accompanied by the yearly debate on whether or not it should be celebrated or renamed First Americans Day. Regardless of people's positions on this issue, my impression is that most Americans fail to grasp the level of oppression to which the native populations in this country have been subjected. (I cringe whenever I hear people singing This Land is Your Land.) I think this pattern of oppression and denial is common to most countries with large native populations whose lands were invaded and permanently taken over. (Some examples are South Africa, Australia, Tasmania, Brazil and Japan.)
I, like most Americans, am woefully underinformed about the history of the conquest of indigeneous peoples in the US. So instead of trying to write about it, I'll refer you to an excellent book on the subject that I read a few years ago. This Columbus Day I highly recommend that you buy yourself a copy of From a Native Son, which is a compilation of scholarly essays by indigenist Ward Churchill. I learned a lot from this book, including the fact that one of the main reasons the American colonists fought for independence was that they wanted to settle the West, and Britain had made agreements with various tribes that all the land west of the Mississippi was theirs. Churchill also exhaustively compares the Jewish Holocaust to the genocidal practices waged against the indians and concludes that the indigenous holocaust was no less severe.
Whether or not you agree with Churchill's opinions, the essays are well-written and researched. Anyone who wants to argue either way about the future of Columbus Day would do well to read it. Also, because indigenous peoples in the US are still suffering a great deal of oppression, it would behoove all Americans to become informed about these issues.
Happy Columbus Day!