Today is Columbus Day, a holiday commemorating Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World on October 12, 1492. Designated the second Monday in October, Columbus Day is a federal holiday, but it’s one that has become the subject of some debate as our understanding of Columbus and his famous voyage has changed.
The first Columbus Day celebration took place in 1792, though it wasn’t a national holiday until 1937. However, in recent years, several cities and states have replaced Columbus Day with other holidays, including ‘Native American Day’ in South Dakota, ‘Discoverers’ Day’ in Hawaii, commemorating the arrival of Polynesian settlers, and ‘Indigenous Peoples Day’ in Berkeley, Minneapolis, and most recently, Seattle. In many Latin American countries, October 12 is called Día de la Raza (“Day of the Race”), which commemorates Columbus’s arrival and celebrates Hispanic heritage and cultural diversity in Latin America.
Some of the groups who support these alternatives to Columbus Day argue that Christopher Columbus was not the heroic figure that many of us learned about as children.
For instance, contrary to popular myth, Columbus wasn’t the first to propose that the world is round, and he didn’t “discover” America. When the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria landed in what is now the Bahamas, Columbus hadn’t discovered a new trade route to Asia as he intended, but he did become the first European to land in the Americas since the Vikings.
Unfortunately, once there, he exploited, tortured, killed, and enslaved the native people he encountered, and ushered in the period of colonization of the Americas, which would ultimately result in the deaths of millions of indigenous people due to disease and violence.
Teaching Kids About Columbus
Whether you recognize it as Columbus Day, or one of its alternative names, today is an opportunity to engage students in examining and questioning what we know about history, the good and the bad.
While kids don’t need to know all the details of the well-documented atrocities committed by Columbus and the Europeans who followed him, parents and teachers may want to have an age-appropriate discussion about the myths and facts surrounding Columbus and colonization.
Some of the questions raised by Columbus Day include:
- How do we know about Columbus’s voyages?
- About the man himself?
- About the lands and peoples he encountered?
- What primary sources passed this information down to the present day, and who created them?
- What information and viewpoints are missing?
- How have views of Columbus and his voyage changed over time?
- What materials record those changing views?
- When [and why] was Columbus Day first celebrated as a holiday?
These questions, and many good resources for helping to answer them, can be found at teachinghistory.com. Below, you’ll find some other resources from around the web for a variety of grade levels.
Columbus Day resources for elementary school:
National Education Association: Columbus Day, Grades K-5 Many of the resources and lesson plans in this collection do not delve into the controversies surrounding Columbus Day. However, they may provide a good jumping off point for introducing young children to Columbus. Parents may choose to discuss some of the negative aspects of Columbus’s journey and legacy, depending on what they feel their child is ready to hear and understand.
Edsitement: What Was Columbus Thinking For older elementary and middle school students, this free lesson plan from the National Endowment for the Humanities has students read excerpts from Columbus’s letters and journals, as well as contemporary sources, to explore the intentions behind Columbus’s voyages and the consequences for Native Americans and Europeans that resulted.
Learning Liftoff: Age of Exploration: In this interactive activity, students will learn about the historical context and technological advancements that began the Age of Exploration, launching Christopher Columbus’s voyages and those of his contemporaries, including Ferdinand Magellan and Amerigo Vespucci.
Columbus Day resources for middle and high school students:
The New York Times: Discovery Channels While this is an older lesson, the activities and discussion questions do a good job of facilitating a dialogue about Columbus Day and the controversies surrounding it.
Edsitement: Other Worlds: The Voyage of Columbus This lesson plan for high school asks students to examine the historical context of the two cultures that met when Columbus set foot in the New World.
Resources for learning about indigenous people:
Even if you don’t live in an area that has adopted Native Americans Day or Indigenous Peoples Day, these free resources may be helpful for parents and teachers who wish to teach students about the indigenous cultures that were here long before Columbus.
The Odyssey: Indigenous People Lessons and activities about indigenous people of the Americas.
PBS: Indigenous Cultures Activity Ideas Several good lessons for grades 3-12 for exploring indigenous cultures worldwide and in the Americas.
The United Nations: Indigenous Peoples Learning activities and resources about indigenous people groups worldwide.
Image Credit – David Berkowitz /CC by 2.0
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