The Politics of the Columbus Celebration: A Perspective of Myth and Reality in United States Society

Lakota activist Russell Means declared in October 1992 that Cristóbal Colón (better known as Christopher Columbus) “made Hitler look like a juvenile delinquent.” As this vehement denunciation of a powerful historical figure suggests, the five-hundred-year anniversary of Colón’s first voyage to the Americas ignited intense debate, bitter feelings, and conflict. The United States witnessed much of the celebration and turmoil. In popular sentiment and in Eurocentric thought, this country’s heritage is traced back to Colón, whose ”discovery” of the Western Hemisphere led to the establishment of the most just, humane, and democratic nation known to humankind. But for many individuals, especially those from non-European backgrounds, America has not been a land of freedom, justice, and equality. Along with other groups, including Chicanos, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and white women, Indians have suffered political, economic, and social mistreatment. Sharing a commitment to reform society, these oppressed peoples have tried, throughout American history, to transform national consciousness and affect public policy by removing biases and distortions from written history, educational curriculum, and popular culture. Widespread protest activities during the 1950s and the Vietnam War encouraged lawmakers and judges to end legally sanctioned discrimination and segregation in many aspects of American life, but conservative notions about race and gender fueled a white backlash movement against change. By the late 1970s, the struggle for civil rights had lost its momentum