All hail Indigenous Peoples Day

My Italian American wife disagrees with me on this issue, but I fully support the Chicago school system changing Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. I loved Columbus Day in the '50's as it meant another coveted school holiday. FDR sure was looking out for us kids back in '34 when he created it. But I lost my interest in Columbus himself when I learned he never set foot in North America, much less discovered the Lower 48. I thought school was intended to provoke leaning, not maintain fairy tales. 

A fervent opponent of imperialism, I've supported the change from the single Columbus to the inclusive indigenous peoples since shortly after Berkeley, CA decreed the first Indigenous Peoples Day in 1992. Actually, South Dakota got the ball rolling two years earlier with the substitution of Native Americans for 'ol Chris.

This issue has stoked fervent opposition from Italian American political and cultural leaders. They vow a battle to overturn the CPS change.But the untold millions of Native Americans and other indigenous peoples, whose history and story were obliterated in the veneration of the European conquerors symbolized by Columbus, should no longer be ignored. Venerating the conqueror at the expense of the conquered is not education. The CPS change, designed to provoke a more balanced understanding of our historical origins, is long overdue.