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Here in the United States, this coming Monday is Columbus Day, the holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus for stumbling ass backwards into the New World and then killing most of the people who lived there. But for a lot of Americans, that story isn't as charming as it once was.
You likely learned this line in school. In fourteen ninety two, Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue.
In twenty twenty, Columbus War Orange paint. Demonstrators around the country have been calling for the removal of statues of Christopher Columbus, saying the Italian explorer is responsible for the genocide and exploitation of Native people.
The Christopher Columbus statue in Boston defaced, specifically be headed.
In Minneapolis, protesters tied ropes around the neck of a Christopher Columbus statue and they pulled it down.
Demonstrators cheering as they brought down a Christopher columb statue in Baltimore, and it was then dumped into the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Oh, look at that, Columbus is still exploring the oceans. Don't ever stop doing what you love. Well, guys, look for real. We need to think about whether it's a good idea to tear down these statues, because statues are where the birds poop. What are they supposed to do? Now? Hold it in And I feel especially bad for the
people who made these statues. You put all that work in and you don't know if this guy's gonna get canceled in one hundred years. That's so unfair. That's why beheading the statue is the best solution, because you can save the body and just pop on the head of someone else, like shack. You see flawless. But while one group sees tearing down Columbus statues as an attack on colonialism, another group sees it as a personal attack on their culture.
Some here feel like they're the target of reverse racism, arguing we should learn from our past, not erase it.
First thing that I learned in third grade Christopher Columbus discovered America. So it's an Italian immigrant, okay, But he's telling you this here represents something to my Italian history.
It's terrible that they were the great, something so sacred to us.
An attack on Columbus is really a hate crime against Italian Americans.
We all remember nine to eleven.
After that, faithful I think day you remember, right, Red, white, and blue was everywhere.
In a respectful sense, this is our nine eleven.
They're doing the same thing that Columbus did.
They're coming in our neighborhood and taking away our heritage.
Okay, they're hypocrites.
Wow, Okay, that's an argument for Columbus. I can safely say I've never heard before. You can't just come in here and destroy our heritage. That's Columbus's thing. No vaccines. And by the way, I can't believe that the other guy said that in a respectful sense, this is our nine to eleven. Ook, man, I don't care how respectfully
you put it. You can't compare anything like this to nine eleven, Like does this guy go through a drive through, like, excuse me, you've forgotten my fries, and respectfully, this is my nine to eleven. Now you might wonder why why would Italian Americans want to commemorate the worst part of their culture, Like, for instance, I love being black, but I'm not going to put up a statue of oj in my backyard, especially not while my white friends are there.
But once you hear why those statues actually went up in the first place, you can understand why they are so meaningful to Italian Americans.
In the late eighteen hundreds, Italian immigrants were arriving in the United States in big numbers, and they faced harsh discrimination. They were treated as perpetual foreigners, and their Catholic beliefs opened the door for even more discrimination. So they embraced Columbus. After all, he was Italian and Catholic and already admired, so he quickly became an icon for Italian immigrants who argued that they too belonged in America. In eighteen ninety two,
Columbus Day was first brought into the school system. A year later, Columbus became the theme of the World Expo in Chicago, branding him America's hero around the world. As Columbus and his legend became further embedded in American culture, so did the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic social club founded by Italian immigrants. By nineteen thirty seven, the Knights of Columbus had gained enough influence to convince President Roosevelt to proclaim Columbus Day a federal holiday.
Yeah, I know, it's easy to forget that today. But there was a time when Italian Americans were badly oppressed in America, and they held up Christopher Columbus as a role model because he put them at the center of America's story, the same way Puerto Ricans hold up Alexander Hamilton. And look, it's hard to reconcile someone's actions when you've built them up so much, not just as a person, but as a symbol. I mean, just ask anyone who's trying to decide if they can play Michael Jackson songs
at their wedding. But times have changed, and more and more people are finding it hard to celebrate Columbus, knowing all the bad things that he did. The good news is that times have changed in other ways too. Italian Americans have gone from being persecuted to being some of the country's most powerful politicians, entertainers, and med school cadavers. So you could replace Columbus with any number of deserving Italians. I mean, just off the top of my head, what
if we replaced Columbus with doctor Anthony Fauci. He's an Italian American hero. He's beloved and respected by everyone, or at least almost everyone, and he's trying to fight disease instead of spreading it all over the continent. And best of all, doctor Fouchi is a short guy, so you
save on the marble casts. The point is Americans don't need Christopher Columbus to celebrate the deeper meaning of Columbus Day, honoring America's immigrant heritage, celebrating Italian culture, and most importantly, getting the day off. Everyone has heard of the Hamptons. It's where New York's rich and famous get this some on. But these past few months, the Hampton's has also been the home of a major dispute. Michael Costa has more.
When you think of the Hamptons, you think of pristine beaches, cold rose, and dressing up as a caterer to sneak in a Billy Joel's Labor Day party. But the Hamptons also have a dark side, an ancient conflict between the white man and his mansions in the Shinnecock, a native tribe who live next door on their ancestral lands. Now the conflict is erupting again, as the Shinnecock have erected a giant tribal monument on the only road into the Hamptons.
I went to find out how an indigenous symbol could raise tensions in a place with the world's highest concentration of NPR.
Toee bags, it is kind of an isore, you know.
You come here for its beautiful nature and environment and to see that it's just out of place.
Very obtrusive and distracting.
Okay, it's so big, right, so much to kind of cover from top to bottom.
Distracting, and so it could be potentially dangerous for any of the drivers.
Okay, it's potentially dangerous for drivers, But that's not the main objection.
I believe that it doesn't allow you to maintain the purity of an enclave here.
When white people start talking about purity, even I get a little creeped down. But many of these Hampton Knites really believe the monument infringes on their spiritual.
Connection to the land.
To get the tribe's perspective, I met with Chairman Brian Polite and no, I'm not going to make fun of his name. That would be rude.
Brian, thank you for sitting down. I know you've had some bad experiences with the white men, but I come in.
Peace, hey man, We're all about peace.
The people of Southampton are saying that due to your monument, their way of life is under attack. You're laughing.
Okay, that's just laughable. We're a sovereign nation and they have no authority to tell us what we ken and cannot do on our top of land.
What was the reaction within the tribe when the monument went up.
Very happy. We're the forgotten people of the Hamptons. So now we have our marker on the gateway of the Hampton's reminding people that they're all visitors on our land.
Clearly the monument is a source of pride. But what is it?
Oh this shit, it's a billboard. I've never seen anything so bad. I mean I have, but it's pretty bad.
So these natives are using capitalism to ruin the white man's sacred way of living with nature. Talk about cultural appropriation.
This tribal monument looks a lot like an electronic billboard.
If you ask anybody on the shincognation, we'll say it's a monument.
Let's call it what it is. This monument is your side hustle you make. It's an extra money.
On the side.
It's a monument to our overcoming adversity and saying that we're still here. But also we need money for education, police department, playgrounds, social programs, so it'll have an immediate economic impact to the nation.
How much of this monument is economics for the tribe and how much of it is kind of a few to the Hampton residence.
Well, I think it's a little bit of both.
Now, you see that's not very p right.
Every time somebody builds a MG mansion on our ancestors bones or plays golf on our ancestors bones, that's a big feu to us. So if we can feed our people and at the same time stick it to a town that's stuck it to us for the last three hundred and seventy five years, so much the better.
Okay.
So I just want you to know that no more golf for.
Me, thank you.
In response to the monument, white people have been sharing an important part of their culture lawsuits. Members of the tribe see these as part of a long pattern of a pressure.
There's some restitution and reparations that have to be made, and this sign is pointing to it at the time is now.
It's horrible the way we've been treated since sixteen forty. Yeah, I can go into town and I can mow your lawn, and I can scrub your toilet, and I can pretend like it's okay.
No more.
Come to my reservation and see why this is so important. To make a stand.
As a white man facing a four hundred year legacy of injustice, racism, and poverty made me feel like a total piece of shit. But gazing across the bay at Calvin Klein's seventy five million dollar mega mansion, it hit me maybe I could be the guy in that Kevin Coster movie and bring a message of peace to.
The pale faces.
And I knew the perfect way to reach them.
Problem solved, Michael cost for everyone.
We'll be right back, ladies and gentlemen. The passage of time hasn't lessened the debt areen America owed this country's original inhabitants. Even today, Native American culture is under attack, as if Monby has more.
For eighty years, Chief of Lioniwick thrilled the fans at the University of Illinois. But this past winter, the Board of Trustees voted to send him to the spirit world. Now this proud chief will dance no more forever.
The university made the absolute correct decision getting rid of Chief a Liniwick. American Indians are not dancing clowns. We are human beings.
Okay, but what if the football team totally kicks ass. You know that no Native American mascots once flourished across this great land, but in recent years they've been forced from their ancestral homes, putting their very survival in doubt. As in dances with wolves, it will take one brave, brave to stand up for his people.
The chief has gone, and so all the spirit and all the joy, and all the pride and the honor tradition, that's all been taken away from us.
They're saying, we don't care about your culture. We don't care that you will hear first.
Yeah, the what a trustee is who I believe is all Caucasian. Get rid of the Native American chief.
Surprise, surprise, it's the white man and bullies like this couldn't care less.
I am really glad that the school retired Chief Alnawak.
I feel like it was the right thing to do.
Why pale faces like you trying to push Native Americans from their homes.
Chief Alnawak isn't Native American. He's a race based racist stereotype.
Aren't you a race based stereotype? Seriously? Do have you looked at him mirror lately? You look like a Wayne's brother playing a white guy.
That's a new one to me.
I I've never heard that one.
Thanks to insensitive belligerents like this, Native American mascot culture has been unfairly cast as crude and defensive.
Our chief was trained by Native Americans so that he could be as respectful as possible while performing his dance.
Brave pukes on himself, do they it's not my name? Oh that's my name, brave balls on face. That's not my name either, Chief three beer queer. What are the parts of Native American culture?
Do you own it? That is it?
I honor the dance the Chief has done.
Like the Native Americans, You waste nothing, use every part of the stereotype.
Why would you say that?
But Leanne, who is an expert on all things Indian, somehow remains unconvinced.
They are not American Indians. They are not Native. Those are fraternities. Chief Alana Wik is not authentic in any stretch of the imagination.
Anyone who has spent time with these noble savages. I have knows that's not the case. I followed them to their happy hunting grounds. We commune with the spirit world and made a traditional offering to Mother Earth. With time running out, these indigenous people are making their final appeal to America's values.
The vast majority of the students, fact the staff of the community wanted the chief here, so that small minority god the chief kicked off the campus.
Forever.
Are we supposed to give minorities rights? That's not what this country's about.
They should realize that in America, the majority will win, and that's the way that it should be.
These minorities. They should either get with the majority or shut.
Them up.
In some respects and some aspects.
Yes, only time will tell if Native American mascot culture survives or if the sun will set on these nearly extinct people.
Beautiful story. Thank you? Also do that by okay?
On a scale?
Friend, how to.
Where does this wreck?
That's not that's not that's not good either.
Earlier today, I spoke with action star and activist Jason Momoa. We talked about his new documentary that tells the story of Native American communities reclaiming their food and land.
What's up, buddy?
What's going on? Jason? How you doing.
I'm awesome, but not really. I'm in quarantine. I'm going out of my mind.
A lot of people know you as an action star. I mean, you know, whether it's being a breakout star in Game of Thrones, whether it's you know, leading the front line of shows on Apple TV with c whether it's you know, just like blowing up the box office with Aquaman. Jason Momoa is an action star. This project that we're going to be talking about today is a little different. So a lot of heart, a lot of pain,
and a lot of hope. Tell me about the documentary Gather and why Jason Monmou decided that this film needed to be made.
Well, I think the what you brought up, just being known as like an action star, you know, it's a misconception of who I am. Even going back to my first film that I directed, it had to deal with the atrocities that were happening on Native American reservations. I've made it my duty in many ways and in my art and my companies to kind of fight for justice and bring to the forefront things that are my concerns.
And I think all the roles that I play, people kind of can think of me in a different way. But yeah, you know, when Gather It came by, those things are happening to even my own people in Hawaii, or just the things that have been happening and what has happened to our ancestors and the disconnection between our
ancestries and our traditions, our food source. And so this film is extremely beautiful, and I if I can use my platform in any way to be able to bring something that's an honest human film and in true history and explanation to what has happened to many so many indigenous cultures. Right, I'm all on board. So when I saw it Blue my Hair Back, you know, I've seen it about five times. I love it. I just watched it against it I could be with you, and I mean, have you got a chance to watch it, Matt?
Can I tell you something? I learned things watching it that I didn't know. I feel like any great documentary does that. Any great documentary, you know, choppens up the things you do know, but then it will always open your eyes to an aspect of an issue that you
genuinely never knew before. What a lot of people may not know is how decimating their food supply was one of the things that the colony listed to destroy Native American populations, decimating their food, you know, polluting the way they eat, restricting them from living the way they lived. And you see those effects still affecting those communities today. And that's what you show in the documentary, which I found really fascinating.
I mean, and how it ripples out, I mean, like it relates to EPHN, my own culture, which is ABCD, and like just shipping all the crab food that's coming over on boats when we were you know, we were island Earth, we were sent by ourselves in the middle of the ocean. I just find it that it's so disconnected from the natural food source that it's beautiful to be able to share a little bit of that and
be a part of something like this. So, I mean, I definitely I'm very thankful that you watched it, because sometimes people won't get to do that. So I'm very thankful for that. But it's a Yeah, it's a beautiful film that I want to get out to the world.
You showcase people who are putting forth solutions. You know, you're putting indigenous peoples in front of the camera. This isn't one of those stories where like the documentary filmmaker the executive producer makes it about themselves. This is a story about the people we follow, these amazing people who are saying, here's how we can combine science with our traditions, here's how we can move into the future. Here's how
we can claim back out food supply. Why do you think it was so important for you to make sure that this film centered itself around those heroes as opposed to just you telling their story.
I mean, that's the best part about this thing, and like being involved because it comes directly from there. I felt like I was getting I felt like I was growing and getting therapy and the experience within the tribe. I mean, that's what's beautiful about it is it's truly amazing filmmaking. And also the director just the way that he unfolds it in his storytelling process. So I mean, that's what makes just a great documentary in general.
Before I let you go, I'm worried about you in quarantine. I know how crazy that can be. Here's my suggestion. You play music. I say you should do like a free concert every day, even if it's for thirty minutes with people live online.
You like being quarantine, though, I feel.
Like you like it. I was born in quarantine, Jason, you claim quarantine. I was born in quarantine, now, man, you know what I I grew up stuck in the house, partly because of a part time, partly because my grandmother was afraid to let me go outside. So I mean, I'm used to it, but I don't think I'm used to anything that's happening in the world. So stay strong, man, stay strong, stay he deal, my friend, don't ever threaten me with a hug. Jason, I'll take you up on it.
Thank you so much for joining us on the show.
Thank you very much.
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