Letter: ‘Columbus did not, in fact, discover anything’

The following letter was read aloud at the June 5 Grafton Town Meeting, speaking about the replacement of Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day.

To Whom It May Concern:

We want to express our gratitude to the Grafton Select Board and the town at large for exploring the creation of a resolution to make the much-needed change from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.

Columbus never set foot in what is today known as Grafton. He did, however, spend time in the Caribbean, including present-day Cuba and the Bahamas. And while there, he committed insidious acts against local Indigenous Peoples — specifically, the Lucayan, Taíno, and Arawak. A pioneer of murder, rape, bodily mutilation, slavery, theft, violent colonization, and ecological damage, Columbus is today recognized as a “forefather” of systemically oppressive racism. Statues erected in his memory do not provide a proper platform capable of conveying this fact; they only help perpetuate an oversimplified version of his voyages. This distorted history is harmful to all and is difficult to resolve. It’s challenging getting people to accept that they’ve been lied to, especially when the lie was perpetuated for years under the guise of a United States historic holiday.

Grafton is within the ancestral homelands of Nipmuc. In our Nipmuc community, we feel the pain of our sister nations that were harmed by Columbus, and we feel the weight of his acts despite him not being the specific person who colonized our specific homelands. I know we are tired of explaining that Columbus did not, in fact, discover anything.

Negative symbolism such as a holiday celebrating Columbus is destructive to Indigenous people and our cultures. They also make it increasingly difficult for our non-Native allies to understand painful historical truths.

Changing this holiday creates a wonderful opportunity to celebrate in Grafton and step on the right side of history as protests for racial justice sweep the nation. Many other cities have already taken action to change the holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day. There are endless actionable steps a community can take to properly engage with local Native tribes. The most important thing to remember is that this change would create a chance for people to move forward together in a positive way.

Respectfully,

Cheryll Toney Holley 
Sonksq, Hassanamisco Band
Nipmuc Nation

Brittney Walley
Anti-Mascot Representative
Chaubunagungamaug Band of Nipmuck Indians