Columbus Day has been a national American holiday since 1907, when it was first celebrated in Colorado. In 1937, it became a nationwide holiday, and has been practiced every year on the second Monday of October. 

When “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492,” he took control of parts of North America on behalf of Spain. Columbus’ journey initiated the permanent European colonization of the Americas. The discovery of this continent is celebrated annually as Columbus Day. However, as many do not know, it was officially changed to “Indigenous’ Day” in the District of Columbia in 1977. The change did not take effect until 1992. The general public didn’t acknowledge the adjustment until this past week, when D.C. Council completely recognized the transition. 

The nation’s government has not been spreading the news about the revision. As a result of this lack of representation, the United States citizens have only noticed the new name this year. The name has changed because many believed that people were celebrating the wrong side of the story. Many claim that he “discovered” the Americas, when in reality he wasn’t even the first European to journey to the Americas, who was Lief Erikson, a Norse explorer from Iceland. 

When Columbus arrived in the country on his three ships, the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, he introduced European diseases, stole resources, killed and raped thousands, and took most of the natives into slavery. Despite these issues, he also introduced new agricultural and trade technologies, as well as a new political system. Many people in modern America believe that Columbus did more harm than good with his arrival, therefore we should be celebrating the indigenous peoples who originally inhabited the land instead of Christopher Columbus.