According to some history teachers, “Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue and discovered the New World in 1492.” However, this statement blurs the inaccurate, heinous reality behind Columbus’s voyage. Columbus Day, which the United States annually celebrates on the second Monday in October, remains an official holiday inflated with false credit to an unethical explorer.

Contrary to popular belief, Christopher Columbus was not the first person to arrive in North America; Norse explorer Leif Erikson already beat him to that 500 years earlier. In fact, Columbus never set foot in North America. Instead, he made four trips, landing in Caribbean islands and South American coasts. In addition, Columbus never actually proved the world was not flat. 2,000 years before, Ancient Greek mathematicians Pythagoras and Aristotle already proved the concept of a spherical Earth. At this point in the 15th century, if an explorer lacked the knowledge of a round world, he would most likely be ridiculed.

Not only do Americans celebrate someone who falsely discovered their land, but they also devote a day to a man who lived by immoral principles. During the European colonization, Columbus imposed extreme force and brutality on thousands of Native Americans. Columbus even wrote in his log, “[The indigenous people] brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things… They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make do whatever we want.” The indigenous peoples were often remembered for their warmth and generosity, yet Columbus took advantage of and exploited them. Why should we allocate an entire day to a person who encouraged cruelty, violence, and murder?

In 1977, the United Nations sponsored a conference in Geneva, proposing the idea of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which commemorates Native Americans and their culture. Several cities, including Seattle and Minneapolis, recently implemented this holiday into place. Out of respect and appreciation, other cities and states should follow their example.

Thankfully, Cobb County did not celebrate this day with a day off from school, but other school systems  close their doors to honor a man driven by greed and materialism. A much better solution? Close school to honor the Native Americans who faced endless accounts of marginalization, discrimination, and poverty.