We all heard the story, in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He accidently discovered America and the greatest, bravest civilization was born....yea, it was actually nothing like that.
While Columbus in fact did stumble on the land that would eventually be stolen and called America, there was nothing heroic about this feat. Indigenous people suffered disease, rape, robbery, and all kinds of torture at the hands of early settlers. If this disturbs you and you'd rather go with the story that involves a cornucopia and the first Thanksgiving potluck tough!
Now if you're ready to be outraged actual humans suffered at the hands of selfish settlers here are things you can do besides post and hashtag your outrage:
- Learn about Indigenous Cultural practices, spirituality, and daily life with podcast and live streams of their ceremonies. Here's a link to several resources
- Donate to one of the many vetted organizations that protect land, women, and social movements. Find the links here
- Take part in a protest to bring awareness to injustice in Indigenous communities. Here's the link to attend the protest virtually.
- Buy Indigenous just like you buy Black to support Black business. Looking for some decor try this
- The last and most obvious don't let anybody tell you Columbus discovered America. He didn't work alone but he was a major part of a inhumane land takeover.