Today, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved a measure to re-name Columbus Day “Indigenous People’s Day.” It’s a controversial move but, as many have pointed out, our nation’s insistence on celebrating a man who did some pretty terrible things is probably worth revisiting.
Seattle is actually the second to re-designate the holiday (Minneapolis did so earlier this year, and Berkley, Cali. stopped celebrating altogether back in 1992), but they’re the first to re-name the day to celebrate Native Americans. “Nobody discovered Seattle, Washington,” Quinault Nation President Fawn Sharp told the council. “This action will allow us to bring into future and present a day honoring our rich history.” The move has not been without its critics, but the reaction has largely been positive …