Indigenous People's Day replacing Columbus Day at Potsdam Schools

POTSDAM. Potsdam Central School District will no longer observe Columbus Day. Columbus Day has been replaced by Indigenous People’s Day.

Students in the Lawrence Avenue Elementary third and fourth grade students read the book “Encounter”, by Jane Yolen. Encounter is written from the view of a young Taino boy who tries to warn elders of the strange visitors who seemed more interested in shiny gold than building friendships and years later the boy, now an old man, looks back at the destruction of his people and their culture by the colonizers and learning how Columbus and his people forced the Taino into slavery and were often outright slaughtered.

The students acknowledged they had been learning the wrong history for a long time. Taking things into their own hands to correct history they approached their teacher after reading the book. Third-grade student Cambria Britton approached their teacher Ms. Murphy about a petition to make the change asking, ‘can we do this thing people sign and it goes to the government to change it’.

Ms. Murphy replied, ‘Do you mean a petition?’”

According to WWNY and NCN, students had a lot to say about learning how history was distorted for such a long time Some of the student’s reactions include:

“I think it was a good book, because we’ve been learning the wrong history for a long, long time now,” said Timothy White, Lawrence Avenue Elementary student.

“It made me feel kind of mad. Because for a second I had no idea why Columbus would do something like this,” said Kwynn Russell, Lawrence Avenue Elementary student.

“First thing I said was I think we should change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day because Columbus is no hero,” said Mazdyn Comins, Lawrence Avenue Elementary student.

“Why would Columbus do this … he was greedy when he should have been happy the people were nice enough to let him stay on their island,” said Kwynn Russell.

“They were there for thousands of years and we should have a holiday to celebrate and learn about them,” said Evangeline Rygel.

“Columbus was a bad person who kidnapped people and made them slaves,” said Anya Bansal, a fourth-grade student. “He was greedy for gold,” added Gray Galluzzo.

After the students circulated the petitions and garnering hundreds of signatures, they presented the petition to the Potsdam School Board. In a unanimous decision, made the very evening the petition was presented, it was passed; Potsdam will no longer celebrate Columbus Day, but instead honor Indigenous Peoples Day on October 12th.

Since the students have read the real history, they hope they are taught real history going forward.