First things first, I am not asking for a removal of a holiday. On Indigenous Peoples Day, we celebrate and remember the first peoples of the Americas—North, South, and Central—our ancestors. We mourn the genocide that began when Christopher Columbus set foot on what today is the Dominican Republic and Haiti. We celebrate our resistance, our persistence, and we celebrate that we are still here and so is Grandmother Earth. We acknowledge that Oct. 12, 1492 was not the “discovery of America,” but the beginning of the European invasion of the Americas.

I am asking for awareness of the truth about Columbus, as well as recognition of the indigenous framework as legitimate. Why does our country continue to institutionalize and nationalize the celebration of a man who began a genocide? And if you do not agree that it was “genocide” that was inflicted over the last five centuries upon the natives of this hemisphere, let me remind you that the definition of genocide is a systematic attempt at the killing of all the people of a national, ethnic or religious group. Columbus’s arrival marks the beginning of the exploitation of natural resources in the Americas and European mistreatment of Native Americans. When our nation celebrates Columbus Day, it upholds a certain imperialist point of view that does not include or even indulge non-Western standpoints.

Columbus Day is not a long-standing American tradition. It was created in Denver and only became a national holiday in the ’30s, so do not worry about removal of an established holiday.

Let’s start with getting a few things straight about the man for whom our school was indirectly named. Columbia (the feminine form of Columbus) refers to the one of the first popular names for the colonies. It could be thought of today as the view of this land through the ideology of the European settlers and of the conquistadors. In his journey Columbus manipulated and deceived in order to further his personal gains. He made promises that he could not keep at the expense of the native peoples. When the Arawaks could not show him a large amount of gold, he took all he could and lied to his sponsors who were expecting more. He was granted more expeditions. In place of the amount of gold that he could not find, he took natives back to Europe as labor and sex slaves.

I will not give you a full history lesson about Columbus. Educate yourself. Read up on the American Indian Movement. Search the Internet. It is important to know the whole story, but I want to be clear that my point is not to simply criticize the man, but to understand the implications of our celebrations of his achievements. What does it mean for American society if its members recognize that the “hero”—or the “innocent” man who only did things that we now consider immoral because he was a man of his times—is a myth?

Changing perspectives seems to take too much effort for a government that has never had a respectful relationship with native peoples. But we are not asking for this—we are demanding it. Sweeping under the rug acts of genocide on any people is not something we can support. Idolizing those responsible for such acts is atrocious. Implying that it is okay to only know a part of Columbus’s story also implies that the other half of the story is insubstantial and obsolete. It sets an example in this nation that continues today: it is not important to acknowledge the full story even though we know all the facts. More importantly, it implies that it doesn’t matter what situation native peoples found and still find themselves in! We will not be so quietly ignored, for we have the right to start with deconstructing—re-thinking—what is celebrated on Columbus Day and why. At Columbia University, we will not look blindly at the name of our institution.

The author is a Columbia College junior majoring in environmental science. She is a Co-Chair of the Native American Council.