Italian American and Indigenous groups show solidarity ahead of Columbus Day - Chicago Sun-Times
By: Davis Giangiulio (Chicago Sun-Times)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
With Columbus Day just a few days away, an Italian American group and a Native American organization came together in Daley Plaza to celebrate their respective histories.
Members of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, which holds the annual Columbus Day parade, stood with the Native American Guardians Association Friday morning to defend one another, dance together and watch the annual Italian flag-raising ceremony.
The event came as Christopher Columbus' status as a cultural figurehead has come under fire in recent years for the land theft and genocide of Indigenous peoples in his time. Supporters say he represents a critical part of Italian American culture.
Chicago removed two statues of Columbus in 2020, one in Arrigo Park and another in Grant Park, after activists attempted to forcibly remove them amid the racial reckoning that followed the killing of George Floyd. The removals were meant to be temporary, but the statues have not been put back.
Joint Civic Committee President Ron Onesti told the Sun-Times before Friday's event that, after intense court-ordered settlement discussions with the officials with the city and Park District, he expects there may be an announcement in the next few weeks on a solution concerning the statues. Onesti provide no further details on what the announcement may be.
The mayor's office did not respond immediately to a request to comment or provide details on any pending announcement.
At the start of the event, Onesti acknowledged the heated rhetoric around Columbus Day weekend, with a plea to move on and follow the example the Italian and Native American associations were showing at Daley Plaza on Friday.
"It's time that we come together, and it's time that we listen to each other," he said. "We must learn from history, and as we respectfully open conversation with members of the Native American community, we learn their true concerns."
Indigenous people and Italian Americans stood together on stage at the event, trying to display unity despite the heated rhetoric surrounding Christopher Columbus in recent years.
Onesti said that dialogue has allowed both Italian and Native Americans who have participated to learn about each other's traditions and respect them — and that includes Columbus Day.
Others who attended were Italy's Consul General for Chicago Mario Alberto Bartoli, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas. All praised the open dialogue between the Italian American and Indigenous organizations.
Frank Blackcloud, vice president of the Guardians Association, said after the event his organization and the Italian American community connected because of their shared goal to preserve history.
"They want to keep their culture alive," the Spirit Lake Tribe member said. "You can't erase history. You need to remember history and where everyone came from."
Native American Guardians Association Vice President Frank Blackcloud addresses the crowd at Daley Plaza.
The Guardians Association does that by encouraging Indigenous imagery in popular culture, like sports teams, which have also been criticized in recent years. The group sued the Washington Commanders last year to try to change the team's name back to the Redskins. Blackcloud made a direct connection between his organization's fight to defend that imagery, which he said promotes their culture and visibility, and the Italian American fight to defend Columbus iconography.
However, other Indigenous advocacy groups are more skeptical of the Guardians Association's position. Dorene Wiese, president of the American Indian Association of Illinois, said that criticizing the celebration of Columbus isn't attacking Italian American heritage.
"It's not about that we're trying to discredit the Italian people, it's that this one person was responsible for bringing a lot of death and terror to thousands of people around the world," said Wiese, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. "We try to educate people about the true history."
But Blackcloud also believes he's telling the "true history" when he says Columbus has been unfairly villainized.
Blackcloud and other indigenous people will participate in the Columbus Day parade on Monday. Onesti thinks people are ready to stop debating and start listening, even though other groups still opposed celebrating Columbus.
"I think everybody really is done fighting," he said. "Now is the time to show unity, caring and communication. We want to come together."
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I have some mixed feelings about this. On one hand there should be no Columbus Day, on the other hand having a float in the parade may bring more visibility to Native Americans concerns. American Indians need wider visibility very badly.
I don’t have any mixed feeling about it at all. Celebrating Columbus is celebrating a slaver/rapist/thief not something people would want to hold up as a hero. Of course that part of it seems to slip their memories. The K of C should throw their support behind Columbus Day only.
I agree 100% there should be no Columbus Day, but its probably not going anyhwere.
"American Indians need wider visibility very badly."
They're very visible today and their voices and concerns are being heard.
It must be remembered that Spain financed Columbus' expeditions, and their own colonization of the America's began shortly thereafter, so it makes sense to blame them too. And while we're at it....Portugal was actively exploring and claiming lands and indigenous people in the Americas in those days also. It would seem that Columbus was only a bit player within the larger story of colonization and exploitation.
Spanish colonization of the Americas - Wikipedia
A lot of entities can be blamed for what happen to the indigenous people of North America. The kings and queens of Spain and Portugal at the time dont have American holidays named after them as far as I know.
It would seem there is enough blame to go around...Columbus was simply the first and most well-known explorer, and had nothing to with the naming of a holiday. There's no good reason to demonize Italy or its people
More bad info.