Staff editorial: Honoring Indigenous resilience instead of colonization

Oct. 10 marked what most people know as Columbus Day, a day to celebrate Columbus’s “discovery” of the Americas. More recent efforts to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day encourage us to question if this side of Euro-Western history, which has been portrayed as a great discovery, and whether or not it can really be considered as such. Furthermore, is Columbus truly a man worth celebrating? Efforts to change the holiday are not to erase history—as some argue—but to recognize whose side we are predominantly listening to, broaden our perspectives, and question if this side is as admirable as we have situated it. 

America was inhabited by a plethora of Indigenous people when Columbus and other colonizers mistakenly stumbled upon it. Instead of recognizing the Indigenous groups as people worthy of respect, the colonizers deceived, killed, brutalized, enslaved, and displaced them by the millions. As Gillian Brockell explains in The Washington Post, “Here are the Indigenous people Christopher Columbus and his men could not annihilate.” Columbus and his men abducted hundreds of Indigenous people—specifically Taíno—to enslave for themselves and sell into slavery to others. This included girls between the ages of nine and ten, which Columbus claimed were “in demand” and whom he and his men sexually abused. It is estimated that by 1900, the Indigenous population in the Americas declined by more than 80%. Is this really something worth celebrating?

We must recognize the truth of America’s history and stop celebrating murderers and enslavers, and instead give respect to those who have died and survived the Indigenous genocide. Consider survivance, a term coined by Anishinaabe writer and literary theorist Gerald Vizenor, which is explained in The Decolonial Dictionary as the “conjunction between resistance and survival—[which calls] attention to the fact that not only have Indigenous peoples survived the genocidal ambitions of settler colonialism, but have continued to enliven their cultures in fluid, critical and generative ways.” It is important to recognize that while Indigenous people have been victimized, they are more than just victims; they are people who have managed to grow, create, and resist through hardships that were forced upon them. As Indigenous writer Joy Harjo puts it in her poem “Anchorage,” “Because who would / believe the fantastic and terrible story of all of our survival / those who were never meant / to survive?”

So how can you do your part in resisting settler colonialist norms and narratives? Listening to and uplifting Indigenous voices is key. This can be done in a multitude of ways, such as reading and sharing Indigenous authors, following and interacting with Indigenous content creators, and attending lectures and events centered around Indigenous speakers. Secondly, stay informed on and spread awareness about Indigenous issues. Lastly, engage in helpful action like signing petitions, protesting, contacting politicians, and donating to organizations for Indigenous people if possible (some organizations to consider are Indigenous Peoples Movement, Indigenous Women Rising, The Indigenous Foundation, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, or MMIW, USA). 

As we know, we here at Geneseo are on the stolen land of the Seneca Nation, and we should do more than merely recognize this fact and engage in acts of resistance as outlined previously. As we have just passed the so-called “Columbus Day” and approach “Thanksgiving,” now is as good a time as ever to begin evaluating how you benefit and contribute to the system of settler colonialism and take steps to resist this system and advocate for Indigenous people.