"Christopher
Columbus is a symbol, not of a man, but of imperialism.
John
Mohawk, Seneca, 1992
1492
- An Ongoing Voyage In
school I was taught the names No
one mentioned the names What
was the familiar name
That young man's name was Many Deeds,
Greenrock Woman was the name
In school I learned of heroic discoveries
Let us then declare a holiday
Because isn't it true that even the summer
Why else would the birds sing
'Spanish Defender
of Indian Human Rights'
Compiled by: Glenn Welker
This site has been accessed 10,000,000 times since February 8, 1996.
Christopher
Columbus
... Imperialism and colonialism are not something that happened decades
ago or generations ago, but they are still happening now with the exploitation
of people. ...
The kind of thing that took place long ago in which people
were dispossessed from their land and forced out of subsistence economies
and into market economies -- those processes are still
happening today.
Columbus Day Banned
by PC
Faithful Response to the 500th Anniversay
Goodbye Columbus!
Speech by Thor Heyerdahl
Stereotypes/Racism
Why AIM opposes Columbus Day
Transform Columbus Day
Columbus
Day
by
Jimmie
Durham, Cherokee
Columbus, Cortez, and Pizzaro and
A dozen other filthy murderers.
A bloodline all the way to General Miles,
Daniel Boone and general Eisenhower.
Of even a few of the victims.
But don't you remember Chaske, whose spine
Was crushed so quickly by Mr. Pizzaro's boot?
What words did he cry into the dust?
Of that young girl who danced so gracefully
That everyone in the village sang with her--
Before Cortez' sword hacked off her arms
As she protested the burning of her sweetheart?
And he had been a leader of a band of fighters
Called the Redstick Hummingbirds, who slowed
The march of Cortez' army with only a few
Spears and stones which now lay still
In the mountains and remember.
Of that old lady who walked right up
And spat in Columbus' face.
We must remember that, and remember
Laughing Otter the Taino who tried to stop
Columbus and who was taken away as a slave.
We never saw him again.
Made by liars and crooks. The courage
Of millions of sweet and true people
Was not commemorated.
For ourselves, and make a parade that begins
With Columbus' victims and continues
Even to our grandchildren who will be named
In their honor.
Grass here in this land whispers those names,
And every creek has accepted the responsibility
Of singing those names? And nothing can stop
The wind from howling those names around
The corners of the school.
So much sweeter here than in other lands?
See also Hatuey
y Guarina (in Spanish and in English)
Return to Indigenous Peoples' Literature
ghwelker@gmx.com