Columbus Day: One Italian vote to get rid of it

“Honoring Indigenous People’s Day - and giving Columbus the boot - is right call for Tacoma,” (Matt Driscoll column, 10/1).

I come from an Italian family. Both of my dad’s parents immigrated through Ellis Island in the early part of the 20th century.

I have traveled to Italy several times. My cousins have been back to the village where our grandfather was born. I’m very proud of my Italian heritage.

It’s about darn time that we got rid of Columbus Day.

America has been built on the back of slavery and genocide. To this day, there are reservations in the Southwest where much of the population doesn’t even have running water.

The indigenous peoples of this land were systematically killed, treaties broken (to my knowledge, we haven’t honored a single one), land stolen, children taken away to live in residential schools, cultures and languages taken through lack of the ability to pass it down, and misappropriation running rampant.

We have far more need to recognize that history and the contributions of the first peoples than we have to recognize a man who sailed across an ocean and didn’t even get where he wanted to be.

Columbus Day has nothing to do with Italian culture.

Quit using that excuse — or find something else Italian to celebrate. There’s a lot out there.