Christopher Columbus was a thug. There’s no disputing that. The man raped, murdered, pillaged, and even cut the ears and noses off those who rebelled against his brutal practices. He was, by all accounts, a savage, who decimated the indigenous populations of the Americas.

And he wasn’t even liked by the monarchy that funded his whole trip in the first place. They knew he was an asshole. We all know he was an asshole. But yet we continue to honor the guy terrorist by celebrating Christopher Columbus Day.

Christopher Columbus painting by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (Wikimedia Commons)

Nobody, of course, is advocating that we abolish the holiday all together. (The USA barely gets any days off work in comparison to other developed nations). Frankly, this country is overworked and we could use the break.

What the federal government should do, however, is change the name of the holiday to honor the true founders of the new world: Native Americans.

This sounds like an obvious solution to the Columbus conundrum. But as Reddit user Tchuff points out, South Dakota is still the only state that officially got rid of Columbus by changing the name of the holiday to Native American Day.

Recently, a bunch of cities followed suit. Seattle, Minneapolis, Albuquerque, and Portland now call the day Indigenous People’s Day. Smaller cities have also changed the name. These cities include: Andarko, Okla.; St. Paul, Minn.; Olympia, Wash.; and more.

Embarrassingly, New York City is not on the list. Although many people in New York and New Jersey refer to it as Italian Heritage Day.

In an interview with Russia Today, Redhawk Native American Arts Council member, Cliff Matias, explains why:

“Then there is a large population of Italian Americans who for some reason align themselves with this idea of Columbus being an Italian American. He never made it out of the Caribbean, and was sent back to face charges. So even then Columbus was seen as a criminal who filled his ships with rapists, murders and thieves. We are hoping to generate some interest that Columbus is not a great representative. I always say they should have Frank Sinatra Day.”

And in Hawaii, the holiday commemorates the first Polynesian explorers of the Hawaiian islands.

But Discoverer’s Day is not an official state-mandated holiday.

Interestingly, the USA is not the only country that celebrates the holiday in some form. In many Latin American countries, the day is known as “Día de la Raza.”

Do you think the federal government should abolish Columbus Day? This is how I think we should celebrate it: