Christopher Columbus memorial vandalized with ‘Genocider’ spray-paint

A commemorative monument memorializing Italian Explorer Christopher Columbus and his late 15th-century voyage to the Americas was vandalized with red spray paint that said: “Genocider” and “Death to Amerika” in Waltham over the holiday weekend.

Waltham Police said they received notice of vandalism at the Christopher Columbus memorial on the Waltham Common early Sunday morning.

Authorities said an individual has been arrested in connection with the vandalism, police are still investigating the circumstances around the incident.

Twenty-four states still observe Columbus Day as an official holiday, including Massachusetts — despite multiple attempts to get state legislation to drop Columbus Day altogether and replace the holiday with Indigenous People’s Day. A number of Bay State cities and towns have chosen locally to adopt Indigenous People’s Day instead, a celebration of our continent’s original inhabitants.

On Columbus Day 2021, The Biden Administration proclaimed and recognized Indigenous People’s Day as a holiday in honor of “America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations that continue to thrive today.”

Christopher Columbus’ legacy and immortalization have been scrutinized over recent years, with numerous Native American civil rights groups, scholars and activists alike questioning why the nation celebrates the holiday at all?

Native American and Harvard Anthropology Professor Joseph P. Gone told The Harvard Gazette in 2020 that “Columbus Day must end.”

“For this nation’s over 5 million American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian citizens, Columbus’ voyages to the so-called New World inaugurated a long history of exploitation, enslavement, eradication, and erasure (and he himself initiated and sanctioned such actions),” the Harvard professor said adding that a celebration of the holiday commemorates the European colonization of indigenous people.

Massachusetts is no stranger to Christoper Columbus commemoration vandalizations.

The Christopher Columbus statue outside Worcester’s Union Station was covered in red paint early Wednesday morning.

The Christopher Columbus statue outside of Worcester’s Union Station was covered in red paint around Columbus Day 2021, the second time since the statue was first covered in red paint in June 2020.

With the growing number of municipalities steering away from Columbus Day celebrations, The Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America have petitioned to “Save Columbus Day.”

“Columbus celebrates the beginning of cultural exchange between America and Europe,” the organization wrote in a post. “After Columbus, millions of European immigrants brought their art, music, science, medicine, philosophy and religious principles to America. These contributions have helped shape the United States and include Greek democracy, Roman law, Judeo-Christian ethics and the belief that all men are created equal.”

According to Indigenous People’s Day MA, a coalition of organizations and individuals working to get the day in Massachusetts changed, supporters don’t want to just add another celebratory day, but replace Columbus Day.

“Not only is it important to reject the celebration of colonialism in the form of Columbus Day, but it’s also important to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of Indigenous Peoples despite these seemingly insurmountable obstacles in its place,” the group states. “Indigenous Peoples are so often erased in society, that many forget Indigenous peoples still exist. For this reason, it’s important to begin to undo some of the harm done through this holiday, and to correct the false histories that have been inscribed.”

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