Today is Columbus Day and once again, the leftist chorus is doing what they do best, rewriting history, twisting facts, and advancing their anti-American pet cause by calling this day “Indigenous People’s Day.” But before we let them get away with this brazen distortion of reality, let’s take a moment to remember what Columbus Day is actually about and why it matters.

Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Americas was more than just a monumental historical event—it was actually a turning point for civilization itself. He is often credited with “discovering” America, particularly the United States, but the reality is that he brought the light of Western civilization to a land engulfed in tribal warfare, superstition, and moral darkness.

Christopher Columbus, the Genoese explorer, set sail in 1492 with an aggressive mission. His goal was to find a westward route to the East Indies, and while he didn’t quite land where he expected, his voyage led to something far more important, the opening of the New World to Europe. Columbus’s discovery paved the way for Western civilization—an advanced, society founded on principles of law, order, and progress.

It was no accident that God’s providence guided Columbus’s ships to the shores of the Americas, for it was here that the gospel would eventually be spread, forever changing the life and culture of this new world.

But here’s where we must confront the lie of “Indigenous People’s Day.” The left loves to paint a rosy picture of Native Americans as peaceful, nature-loving stewards of the land, tragically victimized by the evil white Europeans. This is the narrative being pushed today, but nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, the Americas before Columbus were far from some utopian paradise—they were a war-torn, blood-soaked landscape filled with tribes constantly at war with one another, practicing brutal forms of violence, cannibalism, and idolatry.

In fact, most Native American tribes were far from peaceful. They were engaged in near-constant warfare, raiding and murdering each other with alarming frequency. The Iroquois Confederacy may be the most notable example of this, a coalition of tribes in the northeastern United States. Their infamous Mourning Wars were brutal campaigns aimed at capturing prisoners to replace lost members of their tribe.

These captives were often tortured, burned alive, or even eaten in ritualistic ceremonies. This ritualistic cannibalism and ancient terrorism wasn’t the behavior of a peaceful people, it was barbarism.

And the Iroquois weren’t the only ones. Down in the Gulf Coast region, the Karankawa people were known for their own brand of savagery. Reports from French explorer Jean-Baptiste Talon describe how the Karankawa practiced cannibalism as well, particularly on their enemies. They believed that consuming the flesh of their victims would transfer the victim’s power to them. How peaceful.

The idea that these practices can somehow be reconciled with the modern fantasy of “noble savages” living in harmony with nature is absurd. They were, by many accounts, violent and engaged in practices we would rightly condemn today as heinous.

Then, there’s the Southeastern Mississippian cultures, who also practiced human sacrifice. The famous Cahokia mounds near present-day Illinois reveal the remains of young women who were sacrificed, likely to honor a deceased chief or as part of some other religious ritual.

The Powhatan tribe, encountered by early settlers in Virginia, also engaged in ritual killings as part of their religious customs. Let’s not pretend these were peaceful communities—they were steeped in idolatry, worshiping animal spirits and ancestors, bound by superstition and blood rituals. This was not a peaceful world, but a violent one, in dire need of the civilizing influence brought by Columbus and the Europeans.

But let’s go even further. The Native American practice of burning entire forests to drive out game or to wage war on neighboring tribes was, quite literally, the act of environmental terrorists. Do these sound like tree-hugging environmentalists? They were ritualistic destroyers of the very land they supposedly revered. Massive forest fires, which were started intentionally to attack rival tribes, caused widespread devastation.

And then, thankfully, came Western civilization. Columbus’s arrival was not some unmitigated disaster, as the left would have you believe—it was the dawn of a new era. Yes, there were conflicts, and yes, Europeans were flawed human beings, but they brought something to the Americas that was sorely lacking … order, governance, and most importantly, eventually the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The spread of Christianity to the Americas offered the indigenous people a path to spiritual freedom, away from the bondage of their superstitions and idolatrous practices. Western civilization, with all its imperfections, was a blessing from God to the Americas. It introduced the rule of law, built roads, founded cities, and paved the way for the modern world we live in today.

The idea that the Native Americans were peaceful, environmentally-conscious saints who were then victimized by greedy European colonizers is a well-constructed and propogated lie. But more than that, it’s an insult to the intelligence of anyone who cares to study history.

What the left is pushing today is nothing but revisionist, Marxist nonsense designed to cast Western civilization as the villain and to promote some mythical idea of the “noble savage.” But the real story is far different. The Americas were a land of chaos, violence, and idolatry, and it was Columbus who brought the seeds of civilization.

Reject the lie of “Indigenous People’s Day.” Celebrate instead the explorer who opened the door to true progress and enlightenment in a world of darkness. Celebrate Columbus, the man who—imperfect though he may have been—was a vessel for God’s providence in bringing the New World into the fold of Western civilization.