Picture this: It’s late-1492 in the “undiscovered” part of the world. You’re surrounded by people who roam freely and live unbothered. Your family is enjoying the community gatherings and livelihood, while enveloped by greenery and serenity. This is your home.

One afternoon, the village is approached unexpectedly by a small white man who seems to have authority. He lands on the beach, where he empties ships full of unfamiliar technologies and strange-looking men. He approaches your community with kind words and promises not to stay for long or invade your privacy. Yet soon enough, he occupies your land, rapes your women and hijacks your resources. It won’t be long after that he sends his men to carry out the acts that would soon depreciate the population of your people.  

Aug. 3, 1492: The day Columbus invaded a land the indigenous people once called home. He stepped foot onto the rich soil that was home to a society full of culture and life, a group that was forced out of their homes for “exploration” purposes, marking the birth of centuries full of falsehood and oppression. 

Growing up, our teachers taught us the Founding Fathers, Lincoln and Columbus were respected heroes. The Founding Fathers, who were credited for unifying the nation; Lincoln, who is favored by society as the president who “abolished slavery,” and Columbus, being the great navigator that discovered the Americas. 

However, the Founding Fathers built a nation off the idea of freedom, yet many owned slaves of their own. Lincoln, though attributed with emancipation, used it as a military policy that aided in his overarching goal of restoring the Union, not solely for the abolition of slavery. And Columbus not only completely missed India, his original destination, by thousands of miles, but he discovered nothing because the land had already been accounted for by a large population. 

These “noteworthy” individuals are examples of the immoral background we have been taught to applaud. From distinguishing Columbus Day as a national holiday to carving politicians in mountains, we are insinuating these individuals should be idolized for making our nation what it is today: a country planted on stolen land.  

Columbus was the forefront of the displacement and oppression to millions of native peoples. It’s important for us to recognize those who were stripped of their home and replaced by a people who claimed it as their own. Before we commend our Founding Fathers or praise our nation for the way it is, we should remember the millions of Native Americans living on reservations, attempting to preserve their identity on a fraction of the land where they once roamed freely. The indigenous people are misconstrued as foreigners, when we are the real foreigners.

Neshmia is a sophomore in Media.

[email protected]