Southampton School Board May Vote To Change Name Of Columbus Day

Students in the Southampton School District might observe “Indigenous Day” instead of Columbus Day next year, if officials follow through on a proposal to change the name of the school holiday that is observed on the second Monday in October.Members of the Shinnecock Nation Youth Council officially will petition the School Board at its meeting on Tuesday, March 15, to make the change.Tribal Trustee Nichol Dennis-Banks said the district should show respect to indigenous people whom the Italian explorer killed when he arrived in the New World.“By implementing this new holiday, it would just be like a first step in a larger effort to reclaim an accurate telling of history,” said Ms. Dennis-Banks. “I feel that the school system needs to implement Native American history, especially Shinnecock history, into the curriculum.”The discussion about changing the name of the school holiday to Indigenous Day first began last year, when seventh-graders who were studying Christopher Columbus wrote letters to the School Board asking to change the name of the school holiday. The students even participated in a mock trial in which Columbus was judged to be guilty of murdering thousands of indigenous people. The class also found that the explorer was the first European to land in South America, not North America.District Superintendent Scott Farina said Tuesday that no decision has been made yet about changing the name of the school holiday—but that one could be made at the meeting on March 15.“It is just the time of year to adopt next year’s calendar, and we had not changed anything last year, and so there is an idea of possibly changing it for next year,” he explained.Several states across the United States do not recognize Columbus Day, including Alaska, Hawaii and Oregon, and cities including Minneapolis and Seattle celebrate Indigenous People’s Day.Joan Tutt, a retired teacher who taught in the Southampton School District, said changing the name would be a “slap in the face” to Italians who celebrate and love their heritage. “They didn’t give anybody any notice on this—they just went and did it,” Ms. Tutt said. “We are supposed to be getting along here, and what is going on is very divisive. Instead of pulling us together, it is going to push us apart.”Ms. Dennis-Banks explained that there are about 10 to 15 Native American students who graduate from Southampton High School every year, and that their culture should also be considered. She even recommended that the town “jump on board with this, seeing as … they have a neighboring Native American community.”