In light of Columbus Day on Monday, October 10, discussion once again brewed concerning the validity of Christopher Columbus’s legacy: Should Columbus be considered a historical hero? Does he deserve an annual day of dedication? Should October 10 be Indegionous Peoples Day?

Cathedral Catholic students did not have a long weekend to reflect on these concerns. Instead, students stood before their desk Monday morning for announcements, otherwise discerned as an ode to the Italian culture that Columbus revived in 1492. I may argue that this is not the most influential attribute of his explorations. Is the brutal reality of our nation’s foundation too humbling to admit?

Columbus’ own journals, analyzed by historians and released too the pubic, admit to the rape and dismemberment of natives. Columbus and his men pushed native culture to near extinction, and attempted to push their populations to a similar fate. He is the blueprint of nativism more so than the blueprint of our nation, as considered by many Americans.

One might argue that history books should be rewritten to exclude Columbus entirely on this behalf. I do not condemn him to being ignored for the contributions that were significant, like triggering newfound curiosity of the Western Hemisphere. However, it is also unfair to over exaggerate his accomplishments or ignore his true historical presence, in the very manner it is taught to students in modern classrooms.

Columbus deserves to be remembered just as he was. He discovered the Hispaniola in the Bahamas for the Europeans, and it was already inhabited with natives— who he westernized, abused, and enslaved. His acknowledgment to the foundation of North America, a land he never set foot on, is comically amplified. For comparison, even the Presidents of our nation share an annual holiday, while Columbus is individually placed on a pedestal for a discovery that should be equally credited to Amerigo Vespucci or indigenous people.