I see no need to eliminate Columbus Day as a holiday. I do not believe that Christopher Columbus was responsible for genocide. Diseases brought to indigenous people are an inadvertent result of migration. Columbus was not responsible for future abuses perpetrated by other European settlers.
Beyond this, we should give more respect to Leif Erikson Day, Oct. 9. While Columbus was backed by the Spanish government, men like Leif Erikson and Thorfinn Karlsefni were private citizens who came to what is now North America without government support.
The first child of European descent born in the Americas was Snorri Karlsefnisson, the son of Thorfinn and his wife, Gudrid. Gudrid was the widow of Thorstein Erikson, Leif’s brother. It is lamentable that history courses say so little about the Norsemen in America. I would like to recommend that people read both “Erik’s Saga” and “Greenland Saga.”
Brent A. Maynard
York Beach
Send questions/comments to the editors.
-
Local & State
Portland’s Martin Luther King Day observance moves online
-
Business
Stocks fall as economic pain from the pandemic deepens
-
Business
Pfizer temporarily reduces European deliveries of vaccine
-
Business
EU looks at vaccine certificates to help summer tourism
-
Sports
Packers’ potent offense faces big test from Rams’ defense
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi {SUB NAME}, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have one? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login to participate in the conversation. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.