The Canary Effect: The Columbus Day

Name: Phạm Thị Thanh Hoà
Class: 12E6
Student code: 12040341
REFLECTION
“The Canary Effect – The Columbus Day”
During the very first two weeks of learning “American Studies”, it has come to my knowledge obviously that this multi-ethnic country encompasses tremendous things to be discovered. The more I delve into the subject, the more surprising truths are revealed unlike what I always believe. Particularly, after watching an extract about “The legacy of Christopher Columbus” from a documentary film called “The Canary Effect”, it strikes me that “You must be ever vigilant to discover the unifying truth behind all the scintillating variety” [1]
“The Canary Effect” illustrates how Native Americans were viciously exterminated from the United States during and following colonialism, and how they continued a perpetual struggle in a surfeit of political and socioeconomic domains. In this documentary film, there exists a contradiction between what we commonly know and the authentic truth about the indigenous people in America. Various misunderstood facts are divulged poignantly “as tribes are eradicated through systemic violence; forced relocations, as in the Trail of Tears; and confined to reservations, a life amounting to unemployment, poverty, and social problems such as depression, suicide, alcoholism, and drug abuse” [2]. However, among these outrageous factors, it is “The legacy of Christopher Columbus” that haunts me acutely when it does not represent the heroic image of the person discovering the New World but discloses his crimes against humanity.
As we all know, on the second Monday in October each year, the Americans celebrate Columbus Day in memory of the milestone that in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Surprisingly, the true story of Christopher Columbus has very little in common with the myth they all learn in school as the film indicates apparently that there are several problems with this. In the first place, the fact that Columbus was not the first European to discover America is extremely stunning. However, what he performed on this land, if the film is true, is seriously condemned. Columbus’ first comments about the Native Americans were that they were loving, friendly, and would give or trade anything. Nevertheless, it is shown in the film that if the Indians did not switch over and convert to Christianity, they would be killed, massively murdered and threatened to all extremes. Apart from this, they took babies from their mothers’ hands and threw them, smashed them into rocks in front of everyone. Needless to say, the things that Columbus and his people did to these Indians were beyond horrific and awful. “On his second trip to the New World, Columbus brought cannons and attack dogs. If a native resisted slavery, he would cut off a nose or an ear. If slaves tried to escape, Columbus had them burned alive. Other times, he sent attack dogs to hunt them down, and the dogs would tear off the arms and legs of the screaming natives while they were still alive” [3]. At times, the ways that the Indians were handled and killed meet all of the requirements for genocide. It is noted that we learn about all of the genocides that have occurred over the years, but the Native American genocide is never mentioned even though.
Obviously, there is still a controversy when mentioning the truth about the legacy of Christopher Columbus but it cannot be denied that no one can change the real history. We can confront biases and ignorance in the media. We can kindly remind each other the truth of what happened to the Native population, that by 1890, 98% of American Indians had been killed, and after that thousands of Native women were forcibly sterilized, and thousands of Native Children were ripped from their families and put into Christian boarding schools that sought to completely deconstruct their Native identity.
“People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them”, said James A. Baldwin. All things considered, we can draw a conclusion that, maybe not only in America but other places as well still remain mysterious things that need pointing out for the whole world’s sake. Therefore, it is believed that the film is truly a priceless contribution to humanity in general and the Native American history in particular.

References:
[1]: Sathya Sai Baba, “Thought for the day” (5 October 2008).
[2]: “The Canary Effect: Native America’s Tragic History”, posted on November 22, 2010 http://theactivistwriter.com/2010/11/22/the-canary-effect-native-americas-tragic-history/ [3]: Erik Kasum, “Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery”, posted on 10/11/2010

References: [1]: Sathya Sai Baba, “Thought for the day” (5 October 2008). [2]: “The Canary Effect: Native America’s Tragic History”, posted on November 22, 2010 http://theactivistwriter.com/2010/11/22/the-canary-effect-native-americas-tragic-history/ [3]: Erik Kasum, “Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery”, posted on 10/11/2010