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In just a few weeks, Monday October 13th will be observed as Columbus Day. Banks will close, stores will have special sales, and many students will learn about how Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ the Americas. Yet, this type of observance only tells one part or version of the Columbus narrative, leaving out significant parts of a violent and traumatic period in the history of the Americas. Christopher Columbus is one of the first historical figures many of our students learn about. The way he’s presented sets an important precedent for how all historical narratives are taught, analyzed, and interpreted. Consider the following from Bill Bigelow of Rethinking Schools:
For years, I opened my 11th grade U.S. history classes by asking students, “What’s the name of that guy they say discovered America?” A few students might object to the word “discover,” but they all knew the fellow I was talking about. “Christopher Columbus!” several called out in unison.
“Right. So what did he find when he came here?” I asked. Usually, a few students would say “Indians,” but I asked them to be specific: “Which nationality? What are their names?”
Silence.
In more than 30 years of teaching U.S. history and guest teaching in others’ classes, I’ve never had a single student say “Tainos.” So I asked them to think about that fact. “How do we explain that? We all know the name of the man who came here from Europe, but none of us knows the name of the people who were here first–and there were hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of them. Why haven’t you heard of them?”
This ignorance is a fact of historical silencing–rendering invisible the lives and stories of entire peoples.*
As you teach about exploration, conquest, and colonization this year, we hope you will consider what Bigelow suggests, that we “commit ourselves to use this–and every so called Columbus Day–to tell a fuller story of what Columbus’ voyage meant for the world, and especially for the lives of the people who’d been living here for generations. And let’s push beyond Columbus to nurture a people’s history curriculum–searching out those stories that help explain how this has become such a profoundly unequal world, but also how people have constantly sought greater justice.”*
Over the next few weeks we will be sharing more resources for how to teach about these topics. If you’re looking for teaching resources, the Rethinking Columbus publication by Rethinking Schools is a great place to start. We also have a series of lesson plans on teaching about the Spanish Conquest. Last, below, I’ve shared our past posts with ideas and resources for how to rethink conquest and colonization in our classrooms. Feel free to share any thoughts or ideas you have in the comment section!
¡Mira, Look!: Before Columbus
WWW: PBS Conquistadors On-Line Learning Adventure
En la Clase: Textbook Detectives
En la Clase: Rethinking Columbus Through Literature
En la Clase: Using the novel Morning Girl in the classroom
En la Clase: Rethinking Columbus with Mind Maps and Venn Diagrams
En la Clase: Rethinking Columbus Using Pictorial Input Charts
En la Clase: Columbus and Exploration ~ An Introduction
En la Clase: Rethinking Columbus and the Anti-Stereotype Curriculum
En la Clase: Why we should rethink Columbus
Don’t forget to comment on any post by September 26th to be entered in our giveaway for a copy of La Línea by Ann Jaramillo!
* Quotes from Bill Bigelow taken from “Rethinking Columbus: Towards a True People’s History” published on Common Dreams
Vamos a Leer 
Good read. It’s sad to me to read about Arizona trying to “silence stories that unsettle today’s unequal power arrangements,” by banning reading materials that teach the true story of Columbus, as portrayed in the article, that you recommended, Rethinking Columbus Through Literature.
I have to teach Columbus very briefly each year, but I always try to convey both sides of the story and discuss, in detail, the positive and negatives of the Columbian Exchange.
I find it very true, as mentioned above, that students know Columbus, but none even recognize the word Taino.
Thanks, Justin, for stopping by. We couldn’t have said it better. I’ll speak for my colleagues and say that our hearts are heavier whenever we come across the narratives (and there are so many) that perpetuate the historical silencing of the Taíno. But I am heartened to hear that you take the time to expand your students’ thinking about the Columbian Exchange, albeit briefly. It is in those short moments, as much as in the extended units, when educators have the opportunity to do as Bill Bigelow suggested, and as Katrina quoted above, to “nurture a people’s history curriculum.”