VICTOR JOECKS: The problem with Indigenous Peoples Day

Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the New World should be celebrated, not replaced.

On Tuesday, Assemblywoman Shea Backus, D-Las Vegas, presented on Assembly Bill 144. It would establish the second Monday in October as “Indigenous Peoples Day.” Currently, that day is recognized on Aug. 9. Backus claimed that she wanted to make the change to “align” Nevada with celebrations around the state and country.

What dishonesty. This is an attack on Columbus Day, and America’s history more broadly, even if Backus is unwilling to admit it. The left has spent decades trying to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.

That’s a mistake.

Americans have been celebrating Columbus for more than 230 years. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill establishing Columbus Day as a national holiday.

There are good reasons to celebrate the explorer. Columbus’ landing in the Caribbean changed the world. It expanded Western civilization and Christianity. His voyages set in motion the events that led to the founding of the United States. Columbus’ bravery, skill and spirit of adventure make him a hero worth honoring.

But in recent decades, leftists have decided that Columbus is a troubling figure. He took prisoners of war as slaves. His explorations led to the transatlantic slave trade. European settlers introduced diseases, including smallpox, that killed large numbers of Native Americans.

The implication is that the world would have been better off if Columbus hadn’t discovered the Americas. A further implication is America is an illegitimate nation that should never have existed. Instead, progressives argue that this country should celebrate those who were here first.

Teach this in schools and universities for a few decades, and you’ll have a country that hates its history and itself. Because leftists seek to fundamentally change America, that’s what they want.

But this critique is wrong. For one, Europeans didn’t introduce slavery and warfare to the Americas. Indian tribes already engaged in those practices. The Aztecs routinely practiced human sacrifice for religious reasons. They even cut the beating hearts out of their victims. In a 1487 ritual that took place after a temple expansion, scholars believe the Aztecs sacrificed 20,000 to 80,000 people.

Note the double standard. Leftists deem Columbus unworthy of recognition because of later genocide. But they want to honor tribes that committed genocide against each other.

This is why the “indigenous” term itself is slanted. It ignores the tribes that the “indigenous” people wiped out. And if they hadn’t, they would have been wiped out or enslaved themselves.

But little of this was discussed directly on Tuesday. Instead, Backus said she wanted to “express my deepest respect and gratitude” to the five major Indian tribes, who are “the original caretakers of the land we now call Nevada.”

Think about the bizarre implication. Nevada’s land isn’t a 1-year-old child who needs a babysitter. If people don’t live on it, the land will be just fine. In other circumstances, the left actively tries to restrict people from using Nevada’s land.

It’s fine to celebrate Nevada’s Indian tribes. But Indigenous Peoples Day is a Trojan horse to undermine an American hero and America itself.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.