I always liked Columbus Day as a kid. Remember this? “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.” It is known by just about every school child and that date is one that is always remembered. We got to color sailing ships, and maps. I loved maps.
As a teen I became aware of the Columbus Day sales. I could never really understand why they happened on that day, but I imagined it was because that is what Columbus’ ships had. They had sails.
Columbus Day hit our school schedule at just the right time as we were learning about discovery. I was always one of those kids who was sure Columbus wasn’t first. I just knew archaeologists would find Leif Erickson’s journal or a map, proof of St. Brendan’s voyage, or genetically link the Mandan tribe to the Welsh. I just knew Portuguese fishermen had built the mysterious stone tower in Rhode Island. I was particularly enamored of the tales of Prince Madoc of Wales since my Powell ancestors were born in Castle Madoc. I imagined he was an ancestor.
Now my husband, who is part Shawnee, rolls his eyes when I talk of this European discovery stuff. He talks about early migration across the land bridge from Asia and through various routes still being researched. He points to mounds and tells me Columbus was a late comer to the party. One of his favorite T shirts pictures some old photos of Native Americans and the words, “Homeland Security since 1492.” He likes to remind me that the pre-Columbian city of Cahokia near St Louis was once bigger than Paris, and he is right. The Native Americans were indeed the first to migrate here, the first to really discover America. They beat Columbus by thousands of years.
Some people want to remember indigenous people on this day, but I think these people need more than one day. November is Native American month, which I think is a good idea. These people deserve a celebration separate from Columbus, a time that concentrates on all the greatness and beauty of the varied Native American cultures that were here first.
But I still think we need Columbus Day too. That’s because 1492 was the end of one era and the beginning of another. Columbus set out for the New World, found it, misnamed it, and returned to Spain and Italy with reports and maps. It was Columbus and other explorers fast on his heels that put North and South America on the world map and changed the world forever. That should not be forgotten.
Did the early explorers make mistakes? You bet they did. They did many things that we see as just plain wrong in today’s light. But they did something right too.
They developed ships, and navigational equipment that made ocean travel and exploration possible. They drew maps that were wildly strange at first then more and more accurate. Maps no longer showed dragons and a drop-off at the edge of the world. The world was round and another explorer, Magellan, died proving that people could actually sail around it.
The need to explore and know what is out there has been a part of our history as humans. Columbus’ big landfall led the way for the exploration of the New World and discovery of new foods like the potato and corn that would help feed the world. The centuries of discovery he started led to Lewis and Clark’s travel from sea to sea in North America. Admiral Perry was credited for reaching the North Pole and Jacques Cousteau developed ways to help us breathe underwater so we could explore the depths of the ocean. Columbus’ landfall eventually led us to the moon and that …”giant leap for mankind.” Now Mars is within our sights.
Columbus Day to me is about exploration and discovery - with its ups and downs.
Columbus Day is the day we should salute all those brave enough to find out what is on the other side of the mountain, the ocean, the world or the galaxy.
Today we should remember Columbus as one of many. We should celebrate the explorers of the past and inspire those of the future. The sky is no limit.
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