Sanitizing history: National identification, negative stereotypes, and support for eliminating Columbus Day and adopting Indigenous Peoples Day.

Abstract

Objectives: Despite the fact that Christopher Columbus did not discover America and was arguably one of the most brutal colonizers in recorded history, the United States continues to celebrate a holiday in his honor. A growing movement by Native American activists and allies aims to adopt Indigenous Peoples Day in lieu of Columbus Day to shed light on historical inaccuracies, acknowledge the legacy of colonialism, and celebrate Indigenous Peoples. Research suggests that national narratives, such as those undergirding Columbus Day, build on negative stereotypes about minoritized groups to help bolster national identities. We examined whether national identification and negative stereotyping of Native Americans shapes support for each holiday. Method: We conducted 2 large-scale national studies (Study 1: college students, N ϭ 4,625; Study 2: adults, N ϭ 2,805). Results: Across both samples, people who endorsed the continued celebration of Columbus Day and people who were least supportive of adopting Indigenous Peoples Day were those high in national identification. In contrast, people who endorsed eliminating Columbus Day and people who supported adopting Indigenous Peoples Day were relatively low in national identification who also believed that negative stereotypes about Native Americans were highly unacceptable (Studies 1 and 2) and/or inaccurate (Study 2). Conclusions: The results suggest that garnering support for eliminating Columbus Day and adopting Indigenous Peoples Day requires interrogating the roots of national identification and rejecting negative stereotypes about Native Americans. Implications for why people continue to hold onto national narratives that reify the continued subordination of minority groups are discussed. Public Significance StatementChristopher Columbus did not discover America and was one of the most brutal colonizers in recorded history. Nonetheless, in the United States, a holiday in Columbus' honor is celebrated in lieu of Indigenous Peoples Day, which aims to acknowledge the legacy of colonialism and to celebrate contemporary Indigenous people. The results of two large studies suggest that garnering support for the elimination of Columbus Day and the adoption of Indigenous Peoples Day requires interrogating the roots of national identification and rejecting negative stereotypes about Native Americans.

Erasing and dehumanizing Natives to protect positive national identity: The Native mascot example

“…For example, only 14% of American parents with children in public schools believed it is appropriate to teach children about Columbus's brutality against Natives, but 92% believed it is inappropriate to bring in a classroom speaker that denies the Holocaust (Public Agenda Foundation, 1994). We theorize that this paradox in which American parents oppose teaching their children about Native genocide but approve of their children learning about Jewish genocide stems from a desire to protect national identity (Eason et al, 2021). That is, the Holocaust does not cast the U.S. in a negative light and thus is not threatening to how Americans view their country.…”

“…Similarly, students at a university with a Native mascot, who expressed more explicit anti-Native prejudice, reported a greater sense of school belonging and more positive attitudes towards their school's mascot, an effect that was particularly pronounced among White students (Kraus et al, 2019). While Kraus and colleagues did not measure national identity specifically, research demonstrates that non-Native individuals high in national identification tend to not only see negative stereotypes of Natives as acceptable but also personally endorse those stereotypes (Eason et al, 2021). Studies examining Whites' attitudes toward racial/ethnic minority groups in general also demonstrate that greater national identification is related to more negative beliefs and attitudes about racial/ethnic minorities (Theiss-Morse, 2009; Yogeeswaran et al, 2014).…”

“…Columbus's atrocities, however, threaten America's positive image and thus Americans' national identity, leading parents to want to avoid teaching this truth to their children. Indeed, empirical evidence suggests that people high in national identification prefer to maintain Columbus Day and to not adopt Indigenous Peoples Day, which acknowledges contemporary Natives' lived experiences and the atrocities of colonization (Eason et al, 2021).…”

“…ENDNOTES 1 We use non-Natives rather than Whites because prior research reveals that national identity, regardless of racial ethnic group membership, predicts attitudes regarding Native issues (e.g., eliminating Columbus Day, a holiday that erases the atrocities Indigenous Peoples experienced at the hands of Columbus; Eason et al, 2021).…”

How Microaggressions Reinforce and Perpetuate Systemic Racism in the U.S.

“…Environmental attacks can also be perpetrated through cultural practices and traditions (e.g., holidays and songs), names (e.g., commemorating racist people and slurs or offensive nicknames), and symbols (e.g., flags and statues). For example, Christopher Columbus is nationally recognized and celebrated every year on Columbus Day, in spite of the atrocities he perpetrated against Indigenous communities (Eason et al, 2021). It has been argued that normalizing these environmental symbols of oppression (e.g., Columbus day) subtly reinforces racist sentiments and implicitly promotes White supremacy (Yearwood, 2018).…”