Coming to terms with the truth

        A re-occuring  issue in the American society today is the treatment of Native Americans. Moreover if they should have a holiday to celebrate them, replacing Columbus Day. believe that Native Americans deserve more respect and honor due to the hardships they endured at the hands of our country's leaders as well as treatment from early explorers. We deteriorated Native empires as soon as we stepped for on the American continents whether it be from diseases, labor, or violence. In our textbooks we display them as savages, killing off colonists without reason and being unable to keep peace. For all the atrocities we've done such as ravaging their villages, taking all of their land we still find a way to make them look like the provokers. We credit ourselves for introducing them to education and christianity without including the fact that we depreciated the native cultures and traditions while doing so.
          All in all, natives suffered at the hands of Americans however, I do not believe this suffering was completely in vain. Although the suffering the endured could have obviously been avoided there is no going back to change it so there is no purpose on dwelling on the past. This does not mean it should be avoided as most of America has done up until now. We live in a generation more culturally accepting and aware of societal problems which is why now is the time to bring to light and celebrate Native Americans pasts. I say celebrate because regardless of all of the odds against them (most of the Grand Nations of the American continents) they persisted and managed to preserve their culture, and that is something to be celebrated. Coming to terms with the hardships we inflicted on them can do more good than it can harm. It is time to learn from our past mistakes and let it serve as example for present and future generations. By avoiding the truth we only dig our selves in a deeper hole and blemish the integrity of America. If we show we will not let our pasts define who we are now, but rather grow from it and give Natives respect they deserve we live up to the integrity we claim to have.
         That being said, I believe Natives should have a holiday to celebrate and appreciate them. I however do not believe this holiday should replace Columbus day. Columbus as well as the Natives both been essential to the foundation of our society and have enriched our American culture in some way. Although Columbus did numerous unethical things I do not think they should overshadow his important successes in exploration but they should also not be ignored. His mistakes also serve as a learning experience for present and future leaders and should not be shunned from American culture. Both deserve holidays and Americans deserve to know the full truth about both for not only the sake of Natives but as well as the sake of American integrity and the future generations.