Jimmy Durham's "Columbus Day" poemBelow is a poem about Columbus Day, by Cherokee poet, Jimmy Durham. The poem was originally printed in Durham's book Columbus Day (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., published in 1983 by West End Press (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., and it was reprinted in Slapin and Seale's Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. from Oyate (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Columbus Day
by Jimmy Durham
In school I was taught the names
Columbus, Cortez, and Pizarro and
A dozen other filthy murderers.
A bloodline all the way to General Miles,
Daniel Boone and General Eisenhower.
No one mentioned the names
Of even a few of the victims.
But don't you remember Chaske, whose spine
Was crushed so quickly by Mr. Pizarro's boot?
What words did he cry into the dust?
What was the familiar name
Of that young girl who danced so gracefully
That everyone in the village sang with her--
Before Cortez' sword hacked off her arms
As she protested the burning of her sweetheart?
That young man's name was Many Deeds,
And he had been a leader of a band of fighters
Called the Redstick Hummingbirds, who slowed
The march of Cortez' army with only a few
Spears and stones which now lay still
In the mountains and remember.
Greenrock Woman was the name
Of that old lady who walked right up
And spat in Columbus' face. We
Must remember that, and remember
Laughing Otter the Taino who tried to stop
Columbus and was taken away as a slave.
We never saw him again.
In school I learned of heroic discoveries
Made by liars and crooks. The courage
Of millions of sweet and true people
Was not commemorated.
Let us then declare a holiday
For ourselves, and make a parade that begins
With Columbus' victims and continues
Even to our grandchildren who will be named
In their honor.
Because isn't it true that even the summer
Grass here in this land whispers those names,
And every creek has accepted the responsibility
Of singing those names? And nothing can stop
The wind from howling those names around
The corners of the school.
Why else would the birds sing
So much sweeter here than in other lands?
--Copyright 1993 by Jimmie Durham. Published in "Columbus Day (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.," West End Press, 1993. Used by permission. (West End Press, P.O. Box 27334, Albuquerque, NM 87125)
Me gusta mucho este poema indígena porque nos da otra perspectiva sobre la llegada de Colón al nuevo mundo. Resucita los nombres que desaparecieron contra los que conquistaron. Leo el poema a mis clases en octubre. Es fuerte, chocante, y nos da pausa sobre nuestra historia territorial.
Columbus Day
by Jimmy Durham
In school I was taught the names
Columbus, Cortez, and Pizarro and
A dozen other filthy murderers.
A bloodline all the way to General Miles,
Daniel Boone and General Eisenhower.
No one mentioned the names
Of even a few of the victims.
But don't you remember Chaske, whose spine
Was crushed so quickly by Mr. Pizarro's boot?
What words did he cry into the dust?
What was the familiar name
Of that young girl who danced so gracefully
That everyone in the village sang with her--
Before Cortez' sword hacked off her arms
As she protested the burning of her sweetheart?
That young man's name was Many Deeds,
And he had been a leader of a band of fighters
Called the Redstick Hummingbirds, who slowed
The march of Cortez' army with only a few
Spears and stones which now lay still
In the mountains and remember.
Greenrock Woman was the name
Of that old lady who walked right up
And spat in Columbus' face. We
Must remember that, and remember
Laughing Otter the Taino who tried to stop
Columbus and was taken away as a slave.
We never saw him again.
In school I learned of heroic discoveries
Made by liars and crooks. The courage
Of millions of sweet and true people
Was not commemorated.
Let us then declare a holiday
For ourselves, and make a parade that begins
With Columbus' victims and continues
Even to our grandchildren who will be named
In their honor.
Because isn't it true that even the summer
Grass here in this land whispers those names,
And every creek has accepted the responsibility
Of singing those names? And nothing can stop
The wind from howling those names around
The corners of the school.
Why else would the birds sing
So much sweeter here than in other lands?
--Copyright 1993 by Jimmie Durham. Published in "Columbus Day (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.," West End Press, 1993. Used by permission. (West End Press, P.O. Box 27334, Albuquerque, NM 87125)
Me gusta mucho este poema indígena porque nos da otra perspectiva sobre la llegada de Colón al nuevo mundo. Resucita los nombres que desaparecieron contra los que conquistaron. Leo el poema a mis clases en octubre. Es fuerte, chocante, y nos da pausa sobre nuestra historia territorial.