Rally Decries Crimes of Columbus; Stresses Importance of Native Cultures

Cornell Daily Sun ^

[Chet 99]

Rally Decries Crimes of Columbus; Stresses Importance of Native Cultures

October 9, 2009 - 4:02am

By Margo Cohen Ristorucci

Propped against a podium in Ho Plaza, a poster of Christopher Columbus sat with the message “Hate, Lies, Torture, Slavery and Oppression” inscribed along his face. Anticipating the Oct. 12 holiday, Native American Students at Cornell organized a rally yesterday called "Indigenous Day Rally: Rethinking Columbus."

Alia Jones ’10, co-chair of NASAC, explained that the event was aimed to both challenge Columbus Day and to raise awareness about present indigenous communities.

“Question: why should the United States of America celebrate Columbus Day?” Prof. Eric Cheyfitz, English, the first speaker and director of the American Indian Program, asked the crowd. “I teach Columbus’s journals as examples of the beginning of genocide in the Americas.”

Four to five million people were living in the United States in 1492 compared to the 250,000 at the end of the 19th century, according to Cheyfitz. Today, 4.1 million Native Americans live in the United States, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

Prof. Jolene Rickard, history of art and curator of “Our Lives: Contemporary Life and Identities” for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, attributed the United States’ current wealth to 13th-century Native American resources.

“What was 1491 like? What was this moment in time before the impact of globalization and modernity? That moment is the reason the United States is powerful — because Columbus encountered land that was fecund, not pillaged,” Rickard said.

Upon landing on what is now the Dominican Republic, Columbus disrupted this natural environment in his pursuit of profit. Cheyfitz described some of Columbus’s colonial methods, such as cutting off Taínos’ hands if they failed to produce handfuls of gold.

“Spaniards documented these practices like Congress today documents atrocities as if it’s natural,” Cheyfitz said.

Cheyfitz provided a series of statistics to illuminate some of these current “atrocities”: the top 1 percent of Americans have 35 percent of accumulated wealth; 36.5 million to 37 million people live in poverty; the United States boasts the highest incarceration rates in the world; the World Health Organization ranked the U.S. 37th in regard to international health; and the U.S. owns 70 percent of the arms trade, making it the biggest seller of weapons of mass destruction.

Cheyfitz and Rickard, among other speakers, advised the audience to draw lessons from rich, indigenous cultures to counter contemporary problems.

“My ancestors buried their weapons of war under the tree of peace, the white pine … I exist as a Haudenosaunee woman because [they] gave their lives so that I can carry on the message of freedom to the next generation,” Rickard said.

Looking toward the future, speakers used the upcoming holiday to initiate a discussion about ethnicity and community at Cornell. Ken Glover, current resident house director at Ujamaa, spoke about the dangers of program house consolidation. He hopes that Cornell is more adept at keeping its promise to diversity than the United States upheld its treaties to Native Americans. Benjamin García grad, a participant in the event, agreed with Glover’s concerns.

“Cornell likes to pretend it is more diverse than it actually is. The issue is much larger than just getting [minority students] in here — it’s about retaining people who come from such different backgrounds,” García said.

Representatives from Asian Pacific Americans for Action encouraged solidarity between minority groups on campus.

“The fruits of oppression — if we can call them fruits — are rooted in the same, dirty soil,” said Lawrence Lan ’12, Sun staff writer and treasurer of the APAA. Lan drew connections between Columbus’s treatment of Native Americans and Filipino resistance to Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.

While the event began with 16 people, it gradually amassed a crowd of over 40. After the speeches, participants enjoyed Spoken Word poetry and falafel from the nearby Sukkah station.

“I hope students use the critical thinking skills they’ve learned here at Cornell and go home and continue this conversation with family and friends,” said Kakwireiosta Hall, residence hall director at Akwe:kon and advisor for NASC.

[Chode]

i used to live on St.Croix, and Columbus day, is not a happy day

[Publius6961]

Four to five million people were living in the United States in 1492 compared to the 250,000 at the end of the 19th century, according to Cheyfitz

That must be according to official census of 1490?

... or perhaps the usual delusionary invention of ignorant doofus activists?

[Publius6961]

Where’s the holy land lease that gave the Indians exclusive rights to north America?

What are you, stupid?

Sufficiently advanced and civilized cultures have no need for land registries, the concept of property rights, and the geometry needed to formalize land boundaries and ownership.

The Babylonians and Egyptians, thousands of years before, were totally screwed up, wasting their time on trivia.

[Cacique]

btt