By googling the word “primitive”.
aslo
Relating to or denoting a preliterate, non-industrial society or culture characterized by simple social and economic organization.
In my opinion, the most appropriate thing would be to recognize October 12 as “The Day of the Encounter” or some such. Regardless of the worthiness of Columbus, it was one of the most significant days in world history, whether you were European or Native American. And the day would be one of commemoration rather than celebration, like Memorial Day, recognizing the horrific consequences for Native Americans.
In Latin America, the day is commemorated as the Dia de la Raza, “Day of the Race,” recognizing the origin of the mestizo “race” that is the majority in most Latin American countries, a mixture of European and Native American ancestry. The situation is more complicated for Latin Americans, since many are descended from both the conquerors and the conquered.
Ahh. Common usage vs technical or scholarly usage.
*Dictionary definition. *
Personally, I think you should replace Columbus Day with Neil Armstrong Day, as long as we don’t mention all those toddlers Armstrong ran over.
So here’s how I see it. Columbus was probably, as mentioned, a horrible person both to the Taino and to the colonists under his control, and, if you believe the legend, he was an evil wizard (I have my doubts about that last part). The fact remains, though, that his actions in discovering the “New World” led to the European settlement of the Americas. It was probably an accident, sure, and if he didn’t do it, somebody else probably would have, but still, he was the one who did it, and that was something that took a bunch of faith and courage.
Beyond that, there’s the simple fact that the holiday’s been around for a while, and I’m not a big fan of getting rid of holidays and such just because the person behind it has gone out of fashion. We can have a holiday for somebody without saying that that person was somehow perfect. So if it’s up to me, I say keep the holiday, and don’t be afraid to talk about him, and the stuff he did, both good and bad.
That is what i said.
Ok.
Good luck with that.
Slight quibble here - both the Maya and the Aztec certainly used a kind of paper.
I can no longer call Columbus any sort of hero, and, so far as celebrating Oct. 12 as symbolic of the first encounter between Europeans and Indigenous Peoples, one might as well celebrate the day the doctor reported the terminal disease to you. It was the beginning of the end of their civilizations, as good or as bad as they were.
Yes, they fought each other, killed each other, even ate each other or made slaves of one another, but, you know, there were sparks of science and enlightenment in their largest cities, nevertheless, and without the presence of other peoples on this planet, they might have eventually reached the points of advancement we have attained – killing each other, judging people by the color or religion…etc. etc.
Maybe we should just drop the holiday entirely and let the various races celebrate their own heritage however they please. This already happens a lot, there being festivals for many different heritages across the country. Maybe we just rename Columbus Day “Heritage Day” and go on from there.
If “indigenous Peoples Day” continues to grow and become more popular, I would certainly have no objection, so long as the schools reveal a balanced account of their society, concentrating on such highlights as the Mayan calendar, the moundbuilding midwesterners, and, especially, the Confederation of the Iroquois, etc. of upstate NY from which many of the ideas for our Constitution derived.
Which Dictionary of Antropology would that be? I didn’t see you cite Morris or Barfield or any of the other standard dictionaries in your list. Maybe it’s some newer Dictionary of Anthropology I don’t know about or the local uni library doesn’t carry yet? Exciting! Do share.
Like hereditary, clan-based governing power?
There is little consensus among scholars that this claim is true. At best, the unambiguous claim is that the Confederation of the Iroquois was certainly known to colonial leaders drafting the governing documents for the fledgling United States, and that their were some similarities between the two.
The case for causation is not undisputed.
Roosevelt, Kennedy, Bush, Clinton… 
What the hell is “Antropology” ?
He meant Anthropology. It was a typo. I’m a bit surprised you couldn’t noodle that out for yourself, but I’m happy to help.
Like the classic joke?
“4 years ago, I couldnt spell “Antropology” now i are one.”
The library in my city was closed Sunday and Monday ! WTF! I tried calling it Sunday and got a message it was closed for the holiday ! Disgusting !
It’s exactly like that. Except the “I” is capitalized.
Not in the joke.
Frisian for Anthropology, obviously. Now answer the question.