Historically tomorrow is a day we would call Columbus Day. But in recent years someone decided that it’s actually Indigenous Peoples Day. The contest between the two holidays reveals a fundamentally different vision of American history and of America’s future.
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Bad categories
The pushers of identity politics have a nasty habit of dealing with ridiculous and unfounded categories. We are told that our fundamental identity is white or black or brown. But these categories are artificial. They are not rooted in the actual human experience or in human history.
White people do not exist. English people exist. So do Germans and Norwegians and Iranians. These people all tend to have white skin. But this is something of an accident. They represent very different cultures. Their history, culture, vision, and future are not inherently tied with one another simply because many of their members have lighter skin.
In the same way, Black people do not exist. There are Ethiopians and Zulus and freedmen. Once again, these are very different cultures.
And in the exact same way, “American Indians” or “Native Americans” or “Indigenous People” or whatever it is we’re calling them now, is a broad category that covers multiple different distinct and diverse cultures. Cherokee, Incas, Cree, Iroquois, and Aztecs are not a part of the same group. Lumping them all together blurs the vision of what pre-Columbia America was actually like.
In even calling tomorrow Indigenous Peoples Day, the promoters of this moniker are already putting their finger on the scale. They are attempting to craft a narrative that does not correlate with history or reality.
The agenda
This question is – why? Why is Columbus Day now Indigenous Peoples Day? Why do we have an Indigenous Peoples Day at all? And why did they pick the same day that was historically designated to honor the man who opened up contact between Europe and the New World?
There is, of course, a reason. Activists are attempting to craft a particular vision of what America is and what it ought to be. This narrative is essentially that America is bad. Always has been; always will be. America is stolen land. It is a nation that ought not exist. The land that you live in and raise your family on was forcibly taken from noble savages by violent white Christian males. This, we are told, is fundamental to the United States. It is a sin that must be eternally atoned for.
Because, the narrative goes, America is built on violence and oppression it therefore does not really have the right to exist. It does not have the right to secure its own borders or even have its own borders. It does not have the right to promote and secure its own interests. And it certainly does not have the right to celebrate its great heroes and champions.
So Indigenous Peoples Day is not simply about celebrating some subcultures that contributed to the mosaic that is America. It is about portraying American society as inherently oppressive and illegitimate.
Manifest Destiny was awesome
Let me start by saying that, of course, the United States government and American settlers did some bad things to certain Indians in the long path towards settling the New World. Fairness requires that we also acknowledge that they were not the first to commit atrocities in the New World. Long before Columbus set sail so-called Native Americans were killing, enslaving, and conquering each other. The western hemisphere America was not a peaceful paradise prior to the coming of white men. It was a violent hellscape.
This undermines the entire concept of indigenous peoples. The people that the American settlers encountered were not the first people to be on that land. They stole it from another tribe who stole another tribe who likely stole it from another tribe. I would like someone to explain to me how one tribe crossing land to take land away from another tribe is fundamentally different from one group of people crossing an ocean to take land from another group of people. We’re expected to believe that the first group are still indigenous. And yet the second group are somehow cruel colonizers.
We don’t need to pretend that everything that happened in Manifest Destiny was good. It certainly was not. But yet, I’m glad it happened. Pax Americana is a real thing. There has not been a military conflict on this continent since 1890. In every other continent, the most recent military conflict was approximately yesterday. And why is that? It’s because North America was entirely conquered by two English-speaking empires.
Would those insistent on celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day actually want the indigenous people still running this continent? Do you really want the Aztec Empire dominating Central America? Would you really want the southwest overrun with Apache and Comanche? Would you honestly want to live in those cultures?
If you said yes, then I would kindly direct you to the nearest history book; particularly those that were closer to the time of the events, and not ones written by white liberals who never had to live under the cultures that they romanticize.
What is a Native American?
You may have noticed that throughout this article I avoid using terms like “Native American” and “Indigenous Peoples”, except in referencing those who do not accept those terms. I don’t do this to be offensive or insulting. I’m trying to be accurate.
Ironically, the categories of Native American and Indigenous Peoples were not created by the people themselves, but by the federal government that conquered them. Actual “natives” would have called themselves Cherokee or Cree or Crow and would’ve been quite offended to be lumped into the other groups.
Particularly problematic is the term “Native Americans”. Again, the groups that were discovered by European settlers were simply the tribes that most recently conquered that land. Calling one group of people Native Americans implies that other groups are not native Americans. But this leaves millions and millions of people without a home. There are white Americans whose families have been in this country for 500 years. There are black Americans whose families have been in this country for nearly as long (though I will grant they came under different circumstances). How does living in a place for half a millennia not make you a native? Where exactly are these peoples’ native lands? Most of them have never even seen Europe or Africa.
The fact is that the right of conquest is a real thing. This is a right that all Indian tribes would have recognized. They might not have liked the way the conquest went, but they completely accepted the concept, as demonstrated by their own actions.
This doesn’t mean I approve of all the conquesting. But it happened and we can’t make it unhappen. It is true that America conquered this land. Do you know what other nation currently exists on conquered land? All of them! We just did it better. We brought to this hemisphere a level of peace and prosperity that no other contender for this continent did.
So what about the Indians?
At this point, some readers are highly concerned. Am I minimizing the mistreatment of the peoples who lived here before we did?
No, I’m certainly not. I have a great respect for certain aspects of American Indian culture. We don’t have to hate Indian culture, but we don’t have to lie about it either. We must acknowledge both the good and the bad in our culture and in others.
At this point, our stories are interwoven and that thread cannot be untangled. I am a pale Anglo-Irish-Dutchman with a splash of Cherokee. But I live in a state named after an Indian tribe and a town called Indianola. It was out of respect for our shared narrative that Americans used to name their cities, states, sports teams, and helicopters after Indians. It is the duty of the conquerors to maintain the best parts of the conquered cultures. Look at what the Romans did for the Greeks.
American Indians, like everyone else in this nation, are now welcomed into this melting pot culture homogenized by historic Christian principles.
But we can and should not undo the last 500 years. Pax Americana is a good thing. The United States’ dominance over the Western Hemisphere is a good thing. And we should not lose it.
Conclusion
So tomorrow, do not let anyone guilt trip you about Indigenous Peoples Day. You don’t need to apologize for existing or for being in the place you were born. History is a messy business, and no nation arises without messiness in its past. But on the whole, the United States of America is one of the better nations to ever rise out of the mess. We have no need to be ashamed of our nation. Our existence has been a net positive for the world. While we should try to rectify wrongs that are done, we shouldn’t feel guilty for existing.
We should be allowed to celebrate our country and its beautiful heritage.
Happy Columbus Day everyone!
Joshua Stilwell is the editor-in-chief of Warren’s Voice
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