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How Do You Explain Columbus Day to Kids?

By joslyngray |

How Do You Explain Columbus Day to Kids? - BabbleNo, really. How do you explain Columbus Day to kids? Because I’ve gotten as far as explaining that Christopher Columbus “discovered” a land that already had people on it.

I got as far as explaining, “It’s like if we went over to your friend Ashley’s house and said, ‘I HAVE DISCOVERED YOUR HOUSE. And now I’m going to live here. In exchange, here’s a bunch of disease.’”

I got as far as showing my kids pictures of events in South Dakota, where Native Americans’ Day is celebrated instead of Columbus Day.

If you’ve never considered this topic, the web comic The Oatmeal has a concise, easy to understand explanation of what’s wrong with Columbus Day.  The Oatmeal suggests honoring Bartolome de las Casas, a Spanish explorer who ended up fighting for equality for the indigenous people of the Americas, and eventually to work against all forms of slavery, including the African slave trade.

So how do I explain this to my children? How do I explain that our nation has a federal holiday honoring someone who didn’t discover America (as is traditionally taught), but did commit brutal atrocities against both the indigenous people of the Caribbean islands and the Spanish colonists who followed Columbus? How do I explain that our nation has elevated such a person to the same level as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln?

So far, here’s what I’ve got: On a personal level and on an historical level, humans make mistakes. Our job is to learn from them. American history, like the history of pretty much everything everywhere, is riddled with grievous errors of humanity: slavery, inequality, and prejudice.

What can we learn from Columbus? Everything. That cultures that are different from our own are not things to be conquered out of fear and prejudice. That the desire to explore is an essential human trait, but that there are ways to learn and explore without decimating everything in your path. That those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Here’s the best I can do in terms of explaining Columbus Day to my kids: While I don’t feel comfortable honoring a man who is essentially the father of the transatlantic slave trade, I don’t feel comfortable forgetting about him, either.

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto)


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3 thoughts on “How Do You Explain Columbus Day to Kids?

  1. Couldn’t agree with you more Joslyn! Our history is indeed riddled with mistakes! I remember the first time my daughter watched Disneys Pocahontas, she had many questions about how we treated Native Americans and where they ended up.
    It was hard to admit how badly our ancestors and forefathers treated them. Needless to say it was as much a lesson for me as it was for her.

  2. Lisa says:

    I tell them they are part Native American and a part of several different European heritages that came here for a variety of reasons over a course of hundreds of years. And I think that is great! So I guess my ancestors were here before you so I should have more say than you, right? Many of the Indians (as I have no problem being called) generally welcomed the other cultures. And remember too that just within the groups that were already here when the first Europeans came, there was a lot of strife. They didn’t want each other around. One very violent tribe actually was killed off by a disease which allowed several of the more peaceful tribes to live. I think you need to do a lot of educating yourself on Native American history before you draw conclusions about how we feel. On that note though, I suspect that while you condemn Columbus and everyone else who immigrated here so long ago, I suspect you probably are all over how great illegal immigration is. My experience with people like you is that you spend so much time chasing some politically correct statement that you do not even logically look at the issue, nor do you do proper research on it. You just get on some trendy high horse and run with it.

  3. power rep says:

    Wow I am glad your not my parent. This article is beyond the pale .Your reasoning is childlike it’s like saying I don’t agree celebrating veterans day because war is never justified.
    So veterans should not be honored because you disagree This kind article shows how our educational system and media has failed .

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