Columbus Day Flashback: Harris excoriated European explorers for ‘wave of devastation’ to Native peoples

Vice President Kamala Harris declared in 2021 that the U.S. “must not shy away” from its “shameful past” of European explorers who she said ushered “in a wave of devastation for tribal nations,” unearthed remarks show. 

“Since 1934, every October, the United States has recognized the voyage of the European explorers who first landed on the shores of the Americas,” Harris said during the National Congress of American Indians’ 78th Annual Convention on Oct. 12, 2021. 

Her comments came one day after the nation celebrated Columbus Day that year, and when President Biden became the first president to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the same holiday. Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed a proclamation in 1934 making Columbus Day a national holiday following lobbying from the Italian American and Catholic communities. 

“But that is not the whole story. That has never been the whole story,” Harris continued in her 2021 speech. 

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Vice President Harris addresses the National Congress of American Indians’ 78th Annual Convention in 2021. (White House )

“Those explorers ushered in a wave of devastation for Tribal nations – perpetrating violence, stealing land and spreading disease,” she continued. “We must not shy away from this shameful past, and we must shed light on it and do everything we can to address the impact of the past on Native communities today.”

Harris’ unearthed comments are spreading like wildfire on social media on Monday, as the country celebrates Columbus Day. 

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Harris’ comments in 2021 followed her saying in 2019 that she supports efforts to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Fox News Digital reported on Sunday. 

“Count me in on support,” Harris told a voter when asked if she supports renaming Columbus Day “Indigenous People’s Day,” footage of the event shows. 

Portrait of Christopher Columbus, 1519. Found in the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Artist: Piombo, Sebastiano, del (1485-1547). (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

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Harris cited recent legislation she helped author that makes lynching a federal crime as she delivered her response to the New Hampshire voter.   

“People did not want to deal and accept and most importantly admit that we are the scene of a crime when it comes to what we did with slavery and Jim Crow and institutionalized racism in this country, and we have to be honest about that,” she said, the Washington Times reported in 2019. “If we are not honest, we are not going to deal with the vestiges of all of that harm, and we are not going to correct course, and we are not going to be true to our values and morals.”

Vice President Kamala Harris poses during the Unite for America livestreaming rally in Farmington Hills, Michigan, on Sept. 19, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

“Similarly, when it comes to indigenous Americans, the indigenous people, there is a lot of work that we still have to do, and I appreciate and applaud your point and your effort, and count me in on support,” she said, marking her support of renaming the holiday. 

The Trump campaign slammed Harris over her unearthed comments in 2019, in exclusive comment to Fox News Digital on Sunday. 

Former President Trump speaks to supporters during a campaign event at Saginaw Valley State University on Oct. 3, 2024, in Michigan. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“Kamala Harris is your stereotypical leftist. Not only does she want to raise taxes and defund the police – she also wants to cancel American traditions like Columbus Day,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. 

“President Trump will make sure Christopher Columbus’ great legacy is honored and protect this holiday from radical leftists who want to erase our nation’s history like Kamala Harris.”

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A review of Harris’ X account for her vice presidency shows she has exclusively celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day over Columbus Day each year she has been in office. 

Columbus Day is a federal holiday that officially celebrates and recognizes Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas in 1492.

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Activists in recent years have worked to disassociate the day from Columbus, claiming it celebrates colonialism and genocide of indigenous people, in favor of celebrating Native Americans. Activists have also worked to remove Columbus statues from cities, including toppling such statues during the riots of 2020. 

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