Entry from Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia(Vol. 3. )

Study on whether national identification and negative stereotyping of Native Americans shapes support for Columbus Day vs. Indigenous People's Day.

Christian Science Monitor, 6 Oct. 2016.

“The article focuses on the removing of statue of Christopher Columbus. It mentions cities and states replacing of Columbus Day with a celebration of Native American popular culture and also highlights the Caribbean islands make up the Bahamas and claimed the land for the Spanish crown along with Berkeley, California's replacing of Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day in 1992.”

“The present volume brings to North American Native Studies – with its rich tradition and accumulated expertise in the Central European region – the new complexities and challenges of contemporary Native reality. The umbrella theme ‘Indigenous perspectives’ brings together researchers from a great variety of disciplines, focusing on issues such as democracy and human rights, international law, multiculturalism, peace and security, economic and scientific development, sustainability, literature, and arts and culture, as well as religion.”

“The Yakama Nation of present-day Washington State has responded to more than a century of historical trauma with a resurgence of grassroots activism and cultural revitalization. This path breaking ethnography shifts the conversation from one of victimhood to one of ongoing resistance and resilience as a means of healing the soul wounds of settler colonialism.”

“The founding idea of “America” has been based largely on the expected sweeping away of Native Americans to make room for EuroAmericans and their cultures. In this authoritative study, David L. Moore examines the works of five well-known Native American writers and their efforts, beginning in the colonial period, to redefine an “America” and “American identity” that includes Native Americans.”

“In 1823, Chief Justice John Marshall handed down a Supreme Court decision of monumental importance in defining the rights of indigenous peoples throughout the English-speaking world (the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand). At the heart of the decision for Johnson v. M'Intosh was a “discovery doctrine” that gave rights of ownership to the European sovereigns who “discovered” the land and converted the indigenous owners into tenants. Though its meaning and intention has been fiercely disputed, more than 175 years later, this doctrine remains the law of the land… This book provides a complete and troubling account of the European “discovery” of the Americas, detailing how a spurious claim gave rise to a doctrine — intended to be of limited application — which itself gave rise to a massive displacement of persons and the creation of a law that governs indigenous people and their lands to this day.”

“The authors contend that changing the name of the holiday would aid reconciliation only if matched with policies that raise public consciousness of the historical suffering of indigenous peoples and improve the lives of their descendants today. The authors also argue that removing Columbus Day from the official calendar discourages a comprehensive telling of the country’s founding story.”