Montana Heritage Day
Every so often, a legislator presents a bill in a way that appeals to the heart, as well as the mind. Such was the case when Rep. Bridget Smith introduced HB 322 to the House State Administration Committee.
HB 322 would change the holiday Montanans currently celebrate as Columbus Day to Montana Heritage Day. But Smith began by reminding the committee why so many Montanans are passionate about maintaining public lands. We are stewards who “imagine [our] grandchildren’s awe as they gaze at Montana’s breath-taking beauty.” We are fighting not just for justice, but for the world we leave our grandchildren.
Then Smith and other proponents clarified the distorted picture of Christopher Columbus we celebrate in October, with the corollary distortions of America’s indigenous people. It’s the story of “discovery” that assumes that all meaningful history was made by European males, that despite the long existence of indigenous people on this continent prior to 1492, the land we call America was like Lana Turner at the soda shop, waiting to be discovered as the screen idol she would one day be.
It’s a story of conquest portrayed as at once heroic and inevitable, as one exceptional people simply overran other peoples with their own laws, their own ways of life, and their own religious notions. And because they were exceptional, it was OK to take everything the others had: their land, their freedom, their lives, and ultimately their very identities.
Read more: http://mtcowgirl.com/2017/02/15/whitewash/
