Even if you don’t know the complete poem, I’m sure you’ve heard the first stanza. “In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”
Since 1943, Columbus Day has been considered a federal holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus's “discovery” of America, in service of Spain. But here is the real story.
Between 1492 and 1502, Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a direct water route west from Europe to Asia. The fact of the matter is, he never accomplished that goal and instead stumbled across the New World. His “discovery”, however, while the beginning of exploration to the Americas, was already home to millions of people. Instead, on October 12, 1492, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria landed on what is most likely now San Salvador and for months he searched the now Caribbean for “pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, spices, and other objects”. Finding little, he returned to Spain. In a detailed diary, Columbus wrote about everything of his first journey, from the weather, the wildlife, and his impression of the local people who he called ignorant and fit for slavery.
To say that legacy that Columbus left is controversial is to barely touch the tip of the iceberg. With this kickoff of exploration on the American continents, it also kickstarted the exchange of people as slaves, animals, food, and various diseases were unleashed on the New World devastating native populations. It also led to colonialism that would result in the widespread death of the Indigenous people and the destruction of their culture and ancestral lands.
Today, in Arizona, we celebrate the 22 sovereign American Indian communities that reside here. Each with their own unique spiritual and cultural wealth. They include the: Ak-Chin Indian Community, Cocopah Indian Tribe, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, Fort Yuma-Quechan Tribe, Gila River Indian Community, Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Navajo Nation, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, San Carlos Apache Tribe, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Tohono O’odham Nation, Tonto Apache Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe, and Zuni Pueblo.
To find out more about these great communities check out here.
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