The Trump Administration Issued an Executive Order Renaming Columbus Day

Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr.

The longstanding debate over whether to observe the holiday of “Columbus Day” or “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” has recently reached a boiling point, with President Donald Trump issuing an executive order affirming that the holiday will be renamed Columbus Day – therefore honoring the legacy of Christopher Columbus rather than that of Indigenous communities.

Controversy surrounding the name change is rooted in a negative regard for Columbus’s legacy. Columbus is widely believed to have been responsible for the colonization, enslavement and mass-exploitation of Native American populations upon arrival in the Americas. Changing the name to “Columbus Day” is thus considered to be exuding a feeling of indifference and insensitiveness towards the oppression and cultural erasure that Indigenous people faced.

The celebration of Columbus has dually become a marker of cultural pride for Italian Americans. Many of them take Columbus Day as an opportunity to pay tribute to their Italian heritage as well as the legacy of Columbus, who is largely believed to have Italian descent. Some communities celebrate by hosting public ceremonies and holding parades and festivals.

Widespread beliefs about Columbus portray him as a savage, genocidal conquistador, but for many Italian Americans, this representation of Columbus and his legacy couldn’t be farther from the truth. Italian American student Andrew Fusco ‘28 shared some personal insights in connection to the holiday. 

“As someone with Italian roots, I am happy to see Columbus Day go back to its original name… but I do think Native Americans should be honored too because of what American history has done to them,” he said.

To Fusco and many other Italian Americans, the cultural pride associated with Columbus dates back to Italians’ initial arrival in America at Ellis Island, and the discrimination that Italian migrants faced in the 19th century amid their attempts to assimilate into American culture. 

By paying homage to the development of Western civilization that Columbus is credited with, Italian Americans are given a symbol of their contributions and acceptance into America.

Another Italian American student, Ceci DeRosa ‘27, offered an alternate perspective. “As an Italian American, I don’t feel any pride or ownership in Columbus simply because he was Italian,” she said. 

Other notable perspectives on the name change came from some of the faculty in Marist University’s History department. Sally Dwyer-McNulty, a history professor, remarked, “I’ll continue to identify the day as Indigenous People’s Day…I think celebrating [Columbus] with a dedicated day doesn’t make sense to me.”

Dwyer-McNulty added, “I think Italian Americans recognize that Columbus is a problematic historical character and there are other ways to recognize the contributions and culture of Italian Americans.” 

Similar sentiments were expressed by a professor of American history, Dr. Nicholas Marshall. 

“Columbus is too flawed a historical figure to be celebrated in that way,” Marshall said. “However, since celebrations of Columbus’ legacy have become tied up in Italian American culture, the title of Columbus Day will be hard to do away with entirely.”

Between the celebration of Columbus being fundamental to many Italian-Americans' sense of cultural pride and the controversy behind celebrating a figure believed to have harmed Indigenous populations so greatly, the debate over the “Columbus Day” or “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” will be difficult to reconcile.