Seattle Swaps Columbus Day for Redskins' Day

I would have called it "Indigenous Peoples Day" in the title but it would have made it wrap.

Columbus Day will now be Indigenous Peoples' Day in Seattle

The Seattle City Council is replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day in the city. The resolution that passed unanimously Monday celebrates the contributions and culture of Native Americans and the indigenous community in Seattle on the second Monday in October, the same day as the federally recognized Columbus Day.

Tribal members and other supporters say the move recognizes the rich history of people who have inhabited the area for centuries. "This action will allow us to bring into current present day our valuable and rich history, and it's there for future generations to learn," said Fawn Sharp, president of the Quinault Indian Nation on the Olympic Peninsula, who is also president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.

"Nobody discovered Seattle, Washington," she said to a round of applause.

Except maybe Kennewick Man, who seems to have traveled a long way south out of his way to end up dead in Washington State. Now, there may have been other indigenous people already there, but that doesn't diminish his achievement.

Several Italian-Americans and others objected to the change, saying Indigenous Peoples' Day honors one group while disregarding the Italian heritage of others.

Columbus Day is a federal holiday that commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus, who was Italian, in the Americas on Oct. 12, 1492. It's not a legal state holiday in Washington.

"We don't argue with the idea of Indigenous Peoples' Day. We do have a big problem of it coming at the expense of what essentially is Italian Heritage Day," said Ralph Fascitelli, an Italian-American who lives in Seattle, speaking outside the meeting.

Maybe it was just my elementary school, but I always thought of Columbus Day as celebrating his discovery of a few malarial islands off the the coast of the Americas and not his Italian descent, which is suspect in any event. If people want to celebrate the discovery of the Western Hemisphere by the Vikings, and the various waves immigrants from prehistoric Asia. The more holidays the better!

Found at Wombat-socho's "Live at Five: 10.07.14." Do you think I read Seattle news?