In protest of Christopher Columbus Day, the Office of ALANA Affairs held a demonstration yesterday to commemorate the memory of the victims who have suffered from the effects of colonization.
Similar to the memorial dedicated to victims of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, “The Truth Behind Columbus Day” displayed flags hanging on the campus center lawn with messages reflecting the loss caused by those who died. Students paused as they headed to class to glance at flags reading such messages as “Homeland security: fighting terrorism since 1492” and “Because of an unknown plague brought to America by a French trading ship, many native communities were entirely wiped out between 1616 and 1618.”
The flags were designed by the organizers of the event along with members of the Native American Student Association, but any student was free to design a flag of his or her own. The flags remained up all day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in an effort to leave a lasting effect in student’s minds.
Organizers spent the day handing out flyers containing information on Christopher Columbus’s arrival in America and the effect it had on the Native Americans and Africans who were brought to the Americas as slaves. Origami fortunetellers with facts about Columbus Day and Native Americans were also given out. In addition, students read poetry and Nelson Acosta, Director of OAA, spoke.
There was also a space for students to leave their opinions and thoughts on the demonstration. Most comments applauded the event. One student wrote, “This stuff still goes on, look at your shoes, look at your clothes. Who makes them?”
“We are here because we think it’s important to look at both sides,” said Lisa L. Robinson, the Public Relations spokesperson for OAA. “We don’t want to eradicate knowledge, we want to acknowledge those who have suffered and died and who still suffer because of colonialism.”
As Robinson walked along the hanging flags she pointed to one flag, “I think this one is the most powerful.” The sign read, “For every Christian slain Columbus killed 100 Native Americans.”
Organizers agreed that the majority of the passing students showed interest, although they did speak to a few who disagreed with the demonstration.
“The majority of students have been eager to learn more,” Robinson said. “There were a few students loitering around the table being controversial. They are entitled to their opinion but they should come with correct facts. I don’t think we changed the students’ view but we may have altered it a little.”
Overall Robinson said that the event was a great success. “It touched a lot of people,” she said.
In addition to the events of today, organizers passed around a petition to change Columbus Day in Massachusetts to Native American Day. Currently, 17 states do not recognize Columbus Day, in South Dakota it has been changed to Native American Day and in 1996 the city of Berkeley, California renamed the holiday to Indigenous Peoples-Columbus Day.
Robinson said that the petition wasn’t as successful as the entire event, but the office will continue to advocate for more signatures. She said that the petition would possibly be posted outside of the OAA for the entire year.
“There’s so much apathy in our nation, it takes a long time to change anything, all you can do is things like this,” she said.
The anti-Columbus day demonstration will not be the only event of the year sponsored by OAA, as the office has recently created a volunteer organization that acts as an outreach team. The outreach team will set up a table a few days of the week in the Campus Center to keep students informed of upcoming events.
