VOA文化艺术2023--Columbus or Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

Columbus or Indigenous¹ Peoples’ Day?

This Monday is Columbus Day in the United States.

The U.S. government established Columbus Day as a national holiday in 1934 to honor the explorer Christopher Columbus. The day recognizes Columbus's arrival in the Americas in October 1492.

Recently, critics have said that Columbus did not "discover" America since native people already lived there. His explorations helped open the way for a huge migration² of Europeans to what they called The New World. This brought war, disease and death to many native peoples.

Some American states have since moved away from honoring Columbus and instead observe a day for Native American people.

In 2021, President Joe Biden issued the first-ever presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples' Day. The day is to be celebrated³ along with Columbus Day.

The May 2020 death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man in the state of Minnesota, led to nationwide protests against police use of force and racial injustice⁴. Protestors directed some of their anger at statues and monuments honoring Confederate officials from the American Civil War. Many cities then removed the statues and monuments said to be connected to racial injustice, racism⁵ and slavery.

The anger led to protest attacks on memorials to Columbus around the country. Statues of the explorer were taken down in Boston, Chicago and many other cities.

A statue was removed, then returned

In the Rhode Island capital of Providence⁶, a statue of Christopher Columbus was also removed in June 2020. The removal came after protestors covered it with red paint and a sign, reading "Stop celebrating genocide." The statue was placed in storage and then purchased for about $50,000 by former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino.

After three years out of the public eye, the statue will return to a park in the city of Johnston, about 14 kilometers west of the capital. The statue will be officially uncovered on Monday.

Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. said people of his heavily Italian-American town are pleased to give the statue a new home.

"It's important and not just for Italian Americans. It's American history. It's world history, if you look at it from a historical perspective," he said. "People should learn about him, the good and the bad."

Not everyone is happy with the return of the explorer's statue.

Harrison Tuttle is president of Black Lives Matter Rhode Island PAC. Tuttle said he understands the connection that many of Italian ancestry⁷ feel for Columbus. But he wished the mayor had spoken with members of the community who were offended by the decision to return the statue.

"My grandmother who helped raise me was Italian and I grew up in a majority Italian neighborhood," he said. "At the same time, there are better ways to celebrate your heritage and culture without celebrating someone who in my opinion is the exact opposite of what Italian culture is."

Darrell Waldron, director of the Rhode Island Indian Council, is the son of a Narragansett father and a Wampanoag mother. He said he and others hoped that the statue would have been sold off and kept out of public view, with money going toward a new statue.

"I would love to see a statue of Native women," he said. "It doesn't always have to be a man."

The debate over the statue in Rhode Island is part of a larger debate in America about what to call the federal holiday that falls on Monday, October 9, this year.

Words in This Story

perspective - n. a way of thinking about or understanding something

heritage - n. traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc... that are part of the history of a group ore nation

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

5 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

6 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

7 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。