why do we celibrate columbus day when we know the vikings were here first?

Question

sorry to my native american brothers and sisters i meant of the europeans coming here

Answer 1

Italian-Americans observe Columbus Day as a celebration of Italian-American heritage. Columbus Day was first celebrated by Italians in San Francisco in 1869, following on the heels of 1866 Italian celebrations in New York City. ......As we can see, it is highly political to oppose it in certain places.

Some people oppose Columbus Day, claiming his achievements are not worthy of a holiday. The modern-day legend of Christopher Columbus and the discovery of America is due to Washington Irving. His "biography" of Columbus, a dramatic and embellished account, was so popular it became accepted as fact in the English speaking countries. However, in the Spanish speaking countries Columbus' crossing of the Atlantic is widely accepted as the first contact between the two civilizations (European and native American) and additionally proved that the maritime technology was there to do it frequently. Historically, Columbus was not the first to discover America, nor was he the first European to land in America, though he was the first European to successfully bring European culture to the Americas. There is also controversy surrounding the treatment of the native people of the Americas by Columbus and by Spanish conquistadors.

In recent years, the holiday has been rejected by some people who view it as a celebration of conquest and genocide by the Spaniards. In its place, Indigenous Peoples Day is sometimes celebrated. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, "Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands Friendship Day" is celebrated on the same day as Columbus Day, due to the controversy surrounding the atrocities committed against the indigenous peoples of the present-day Caribbean during the Spanish colonization of the New World. In the state of South Dakota, the day is officially a state holiday known as "Native American Day", not Columbus Day.

Some have argued that the responsibility of contemporary governments and their citizens for allegedly ongoing acts of genocide against Native Americans are masked by positive Columbus myths and celebrations. These critics argue that a particular understanding of the legacy of Columbus has been used to legitimize their actions, and it is this misuse of history that must be exposed. Thus, Ward Churchill (an associate professor of Native American Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a leader of the American Indian Movement), has argued that certain myths about Columbus, and celebrations of Columbus, make it easier for people today to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions, or the actions of their governments.

I took this text from Wiki because It sums up some things. We really need to reconsider making a hero out of a man who help lead to the extinction of the Taino Indians...promote rape, killing , torture and slavery all in the name of being the conquerer and having a name to live on. Some same men leading our country to war now have the death/blood of thousands on their hands.

Answer 2

Probably because we live in a very eurocentric country. (eurocentric -- seeing everything as it relates to European traditions and values and definitions, etc.) We celebrate the day that Columbus "discovered" the new world, even though the "new world" was already inhabited. And, to be technical, Native Americans were here before the Vikings. Its also very eurocentric to call these native people "uncivilized", so please don't fall into that trap. But, because everything in the history of the United States tends to follow the European trend, we still celebrate the European overpowering/defeat of native peoples. (i.e. Columbus Day)

We've made progress despite this, however! History is not built on lies, and teachers and textbooks are making huge leaps and bounds trying to correct this belief and the white male viewpoint that has predominated history textbooks.

Answer 3

We should Irish Day instead

The Irish discovered America long before either the Viking or Columbus. In fact, they directions to both of them on how to get here.

But when they landed - they observed that the native Indians did have any beer or whiskey - so they left them undistorted

Answer 4

Remember the winners write history. Our history books are filled with such first grade renditions of history. If you really delved into the truth about so many stories told in public school history books, you'd never believe another thing. For example we are told that Hitler was an evil man because he was responsible for killing over 6 million innocent people, which is the absolute truth but did you know, our (USA) ally Joseph Stalin in WWII or "Uncle Joe" as Roosevelt, his friend called him ( he also called him "a Christian gentleman" is estimated to be responsible for nearly 65 million deaths? You won't read that in your government sponsored history book. Do some research on your own and you'll be surprised about how much BS is taught in schools.

Answer 5

Well, christopher colombus was the real... well, CIVILIZED, chartered person to get to the Americas, and establish settlements and civilize the place...
yes, the vikings and the native amerians were here first, but if colombus hadn't discovered the americas, maybe the United States wouldn't exist today.
I mean, the native americans and the vikings lived in the americans long before any english person came to visit, but they didn't really do anything to civilize--make the Americas what it is now--did they?
so it was really colombus who started the New World thing.
and... well, we recently did this in a school project,
but we shouldn't celebrate colombus day, only acknowledge it, for what he did to the native americans of the area-enslaved them-and started slavery..
hope this helps!

Answer 6

Perhaps for the same reason that the official discoverer Columbus is honoured by a small piece of land Columbia and the whole land mass is named after the navigator Amerigo Vespucci

Just putting in my two paisas...

Answer 7

Because the vikings did nothing and did not stay...
Native Americans were not the first humans in the Americas..
Native Americans killed the first American immigrants who
were from Australia...

Answer 8

Because Columbus was a Christian and the vikings weren't.

Answer 9

Native Americans don't celebrate Columbus Day. He was an illegal immigrant.

Answer 10

Because Columbus paved the way to more permanent settlements.