Rethinking Columbus: hero or savage?

Ever Since Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, his arrival in the New World has been a subject of great contention. Columbus has alternately been heralded as a hero and a conqueror--and celebrations this weekend reflect both views.

Traditional Columbus Day celebrations have hailed the explorer as the quintessential American and idealized his triumph over the Atlantic.

But traditions sometimes change. During the '60s, Columbus began to be seen more as a villain than a hero, and the celebration of Columbus' voyages has been replaced with celebrations of the indigenous peoples.

Boston, traditionally a very diverse city, is certainly not at a loss for celebrations, with a significant number of events taking place this weekend.

Reflecting the national trend, the city has largely shifted its focus to celebrate native and ethnic groups rather than the discovery of the New World.

But Columbus has not been entirely ignored in these festivities Italian-Americans will also celebrate Columbus Day as emblematic of the successes of Italian-Americans.

If all goes according to the events' organizers, this weekend may turn out to be more of a unifying force for area groups and residents than the typical conflict over Columbus' place in history.

Boston's annual Columbus Day Parade will attempt to unite all groups and opinions--whether they celebrate Columbus, Native Americans or spurn the day altogether--in participating in a festival of inclusion, according to parade organizers.

Myth of Columbus

The myth of Columbus rose after the Revolutionary War, as Americans sought to carve out a unique identity, according to Susan L. Lively, instructor of History 71a, "America: Colonial Times to the Civil War," a survey course in the History Department.

"This was part of the process of Americans trying to establish a national identity separate from a British identity in the early nineteenth century," Lively says.

In this process, Columbus became adopted as the quintessential American. King's College in New York City became Columbia University, the town of Columbia, South Carolina, was founded and Washington Irving wrote The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, "portraying Christopher Columbus as a hero," Lively says.

"During the end of the nineteenth century, there was a great influx of Southern and Eastern European immigrants coming [to America]," Lively says. "The allure of Columbus was only partly based on the fact that he was Catholic; he was also the first successful Italian-American at a time when Italian immigrants were looking for successful Italian-American role models."

This is especially true in the Boston area, says Joseph S. Keohane, chief marshal and manager of this Sunday's Columbus Day Parade.

"On the East Coast, the Portuguese and the Italians settled here and they laid claim to him," Keohane says. "Columbus Day is a tradition in the Boston area. There's even a rivalry between the Portuguese and the Italians about whose holiday it is."

Shifting Celebrations

However, all this began to change during the 1960's, Lively says. "Instead of [Columbus as] this great hero, the 60s made us more sensitive to other points of view. There became [greater] awareness of minorities."

"Columbus Day has become slightly contentious," Lively says. "Should we consider Columbus a hero when he was the one who, some would say, began the demise of the Native American population?"

This dilemma has led to a shift away from traditional Columbus Day celebrations in recent years and a greater focus upon the experiences of Native Americans.

The City Council of Berkeley, California changed the city's annual Columbus Day holiday to a "Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People," in 1992, the 500th anniversary of Columbus' landing in the New World.

Celebration, "which included music, cultural presentations, a procession that included temporary art installations and performances en route and opening and closing ceremonies," focused on Native Americans rather than the now-controversial explorer, according to a memo released by the city.

Like other cities across the nation, Boston has been party to this shift, and many of this weekend's events represent celebrations of the Native American culture rather than Columbus.

Advertised as "Say No to Columbus Day" on posters throughout Boston, "A Life-Affirming, Anti-Racism Alternative to Columbus Day--A Day of Truth and Intercultural Solidarity" will be held Monday from 4 to 8:30 p.m. at 4 Danforth Street in Jamaica Plains.

The event is co-sponsored by the United American Indians of New England and Community Change, "a multi-cultural, anti-racism organization located in Boston," according to James "Jim" K. Kilpatrick, a Community Change volunteer member and the event's coordinator.

"Its headquarters and anti-racism library have occupied a small space in downtown Boston for about 20 years now," Kilpatrick says.

"This intercultural alternative to [Columbus Day] celebrates and honors the indigenous people whom Columbus and the [other] European explorers killed [and] honors their survival, values, and beliefs," he says.

The idea for the intercultural event grew out of a similar, but smaller, event held last year in his living room," Kilpatrick says.

"We sat around watching a video...about Columbus' contact with the Indian people," he says. "We also had a moment of acknowledgement for the people whose lives were lost due to the contact of Columbus with the Indians. [Then] Community Change took it as an idea to expand on."

According to Kilpatrick, one highlight of Monday's event will be speeches by the co-leaders of the United American Indians of New England--Moomanum, a Wampanoag Indian, and Mahtowin, a Lakota native.

Kilpatrick himself is not of Native American descent but describes himself as "a child of the '60s."

Italian-American Pride

But not all celebrations this weekend will focus on Native Americans or away from Columbus.

Those of Italian-American descent view Columbus Day as an integral part of their ethnic make-up.

Keohane says that Columbus Day was an important part of his childhood while growing up in East Boston.

"I grew up with Christopher Columbus, Christmas, turkey and the Easter bunny," Keohane says. "[Columbus Day] was just like Christmas; it came [only] once a year."

Cambridge City Councillor Anthony D. Gallucio adds that Columbus Day is not only a connection to his Italian-American heritage but also "a connection to his father," who came to America from Italy as a young boy.

To some, Columbus Day is more than a holiday; it has become a once-in-a-year opportunity to highlight their cultural heritage.

"[Columbus Day] celebrates and recognizes Christopher Columbus for his great accomplishments and navigational skills," Gallucio says, "but for Italian-Americans, it's [also] a day of pride for the accomplishments of Italian-Americans."

"Italian-Americans, like a lot of other ethnic groups, feel that they haven't been given enough recognition in this country and this is a day of great pride [for us]," Gallucio says.

Alfred E. Vellucci, former mayor of Cambridge and a member of the Cambridge chapter of the Sons of Italy, concurs.

"I feel that, being of Italian-American descent, all the Italian and Italian-Americans who live in Cambridge are proud of Columbus for discovering America," he says. "I feel that [Columbus Day] is quite important because it puts the spotlight on Italian-Americans in America, of which there are 20 million."

Gallucio says that the shift in recent years toward lesser recognition of Columbus Day is unwarranted.

"I think sometimes in our quest for equality and especially in a politically correct atmosphere like Cambridge. [these feelings abound]," Gallucio says. "However, I think there has to be a recognition of diversity, which means celebrating holidays of all ethnic, religious and racial [backgrounds]."

Citing the fact that Cambridge has no Columbus Day celebration, Gallucio added, "I always thought it was sort of hypocritical that in a city like Cambridge, where we supposedly celebrate diversity, we don't support each other's ethnic and religious views enough. I think quite often Cambridge does not celebrate the neighborhoods the way it should."

Columbus Day Celebrations

Boston, however, has no dearth of Columbus Day celebrations. Mayor Thomas M. Menino presented the 10th Annual Christopher Columbus Community Spirit Awards at City Hall on Thursday to recognize Italian-Americans who have contributed to the community.

Dinner dances are also being held this weekend by local organizations in the North End and a parade will wind through Boston on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.

The parade, sponsored annually by the Special Events and Tourism Department, is the biggest celebration by far, with a budget of $50,000.

Keohane, the parade's marshal, calls East Boston a "real diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-racial neighborhood" and says that the parade will share the same characteristics.

The parade will encompass a range and variety unmatched in the past, Keohane says.

"I have a big delegation from Colombia with the ambassador of Colombia, a steel band..., a mariachi group and a salsa group," he says. "There will [also] be lots of Spanish organizations and Portuguese [ones]."

With the different groups, Keohane says this is a parade of inclusion. No Native American groups will be participating, but the presence of protest groups will be felt.

"The Indian Council [was] invited and [other such] individual groups, and they chose not to come," Keohane says. "[However, there will be] many protest groups--father's rights groups and two unions from the MBTA, demonstrating not to privatize the T. Everyone has a right to express themselves and the parade is an expression of that."

Columbus' Legacy

Conflicts about Columbus Day have led to the rise of alternative celebrations. But the view of Columbus the man has also evolved throughout the years.

"As a human being, he was a man of his time," Kilpatrick says. "Europeans were very caught up in the ideology of domination. I would say that Christopher Columbus and the European explorers are perpetrators of genocide, people who had an attitude of white supremacy and Christian supremacy and who had a mentality that it was alright to dominate and kill and take from people who were different."

Kilpatrick refers to this attitude as a "Columbus Syndrome" which still dominates America today. However, he doesn't place blame fully upon the Italian explorer.

"It's not so much Christopher Columbus," Kilpatrick concedes. "He was in charge of a lot of what happened, but even after he was replaced, the Spanish and European [explorers] continued to enslave, kill and dominate the native people."

In response to the view of Columbus as cruel enslaver, Keohane says, "[Columbus Day] is an American holiday and that's the way it should be. Columbus discovered the country [and] we wouldn't be here if it weren't for him."