ANOTHER VIEW OF COLUMBUS By Priscilla Ahlgren Copyright Milwaukee Journal Published October 6, 1991 When Mary Holder asked her eighth-graders at Audubon Middle School [in Milwaukee, WI] what they knew about Christoper Columbus, they recited a time-honored list of the explorer's accomplishments. "He sailed the ocean blue," "discovered America" and "proved the world was round," they offered. But by the end of the lesson last week, Holder had the students questioning some of what they had learned in earlier grades. She had introduced the view of Columbus that speaks to his dark side: his obsession with god and his enslavement and murder of natives. That kind of experience is being repeated throughout Wisconsin this month as hundreds of fifth-, eighth-, and 11th-grade teachers take up Columbus in American history classes. Beginning Saturday, the 499th anniversary of the day Columbus reached the West Indies, various commemorative commissions will start yearlong observations of the 500th anniversary of his arrival in the New World. But as Oct. 12, 1992 approaches, controversy swirls over which view of the explorer is correct: Columbus the brave visionary, whose daring voyage led to the civilization of two great continents? Or Columbus the ruthless, greedy imperialist, who slaughtered a people, plundered their land and destroyed their culture? Meanwhile, historians continue to argue over whether Columbus really deserves credit for having been the first to set foot in the New World. Last week, two Chinese researchers weighed in with evidence that the ancient Chinese came upon the New World more than 800 years before Columbus landed. And here in Wisconsin, a proposal to rename US Highway 151 in honor of Columbus has been assailed as an affront to American Indians. Even use of the word "discover" in connection with Columbus is being reassessed. The revisionists say Columbus' mission more accurately should be termed an "invasion." As the controversy spills over into the schools, teachers such as Mary Holder are being asked to reconsider what and how they should teach about Columbus. Bill Bigelow, a history teacher from Portland, Ore., says teachers need to correct historical inaccuracies in order to teach the truth about Columbus. But that also means teaching students to examine what he calls the Columbus "myth" with a critical eye. "What troubles me even more than the historical inaccuracies is the fact that we've been teaching the Columbus story from only one perspective," said Bigelow, who was in Milwaukee last week running "Rethinking Columbus" workshops for about 150 Milwaukee Public Schools teachers. Cynthia Ellwood, director of curriculum and instruction for Milwaukee Public Schools, told teachers in Bigelow's workshops that his view should not be interpreted as "the company line." She said he had been invited to offer a perspective that was different from that offered in most textbooks. "Just as we're asking students to begin to think critically, we're asking you to do the same," she told teachers. Bigelow says there's much to criticize. He points out that the vast majority of textbooks and biographies about Columbus written for children "get you to root for Columbus." The books portray Columbus as handsome, brave and smart; as an accomplished sailor who was born to lead; as persistent and eloquent enough to persuade Spain's King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to finance his voyage; and as a commander strong enough to put down repeated threats of mutiny by his ignorant, rowdy, ugly crewmen. If that weren't enough, many children's books found in public libraries suggest that Columbus had God on his side. Meanwhile, the Indians Columbus encounters in the New World are portrayed as ignorant, backward pagans. Columbus, by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire, describes the natives Columbus encountered on the islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe as "wild." "They were cannibals who ate their enemies," says one illustrated passage from the book, which was published in 1955 and was available last week on the shelves of the children's section at the Shorewood Public Library. Bigelow says there is no historical evidence to substantiate that claim. Beyond that, there are serious omissions that have served over the years to perpetuate the myth that Columbus was a flat-out hero. Few texts or children's books, for example, ever talk about Columbus' second and third voyages to the New World. It was on those trips that Columbus forced the natives to bring him gold and tortured and killed those who did not. He also rounded up and kidnapped hundreds of natives, whom he transported back to Spain on slave ships. Bigelow said the impending quincentenary had helped to shed light on the Columbus myth. "His record is much more out there on the table now," said Bigelow, who is on leave from his job as a teacher at Portland's Jefferson High School to run the Rethinking Columbus Project for the Network of Educators on Central America. The project is being paid for by the Unitarian Church. In his workshops, Bigelow encourages teachers to get their students thinking about Columbus in new ways. Start with the word "discover," he said. "Think about it," he said. "It appears neutral, but it's completely loaded with all kinds of cultural bias." Donelle Johnson, a fourth-grade teacher at Elm Elementary School, got the idea across Friday when she "discovered" a key hanging on a braided cord around the neck of 11-year-old Jerome Smith. "Look what I discovered," she said, taking the key and hanging it around her neck. "Now it's mine." Jerome and his classmates had some problems with that. "But I had it first," Jerome protested. Erik Lund, 8, agreed. "He had the key made, and paid money for it," Erik said. "You don't have any right to take it." Johnson pointed out that she was bigger than Jerome, and the person in charge of the classroom. "But you didn't have his permission," said Eugennia Hobson, 10. END THE TRUTHS BEHIND COLUMBUS MYTH It's true that in 1492 Columbus sailed three ships across the Atlantic Ocean for the glory of Spain. In the West Indies, he encountered natives, to whom he gave trinkets. When he returned to Spain, he took some of the natives with him. But historians also have documented other, lesser-known facts about Columbus and his expeditions, according to history teacher Bill Bigelow, who has been urging other teachers to demythologize the Columbus story. For instance: --Contrary to what decades of American schoolchildren have been taught, Columbus did not sail west in hopes of proving that the Earth was round. Virtually all educated people of the late 15th century already knew that. --Columbus' motives weren't purely patriotic. He negotiated for himself a ten percent cut of any profits. --Determined to find gold on his second and third voyages, Columbus ordered that natives older than 14 bring him a set amount of gold dust every three months. Those who did not had their hands chopped off. --Columbus kidnapped hundreds of natives and took them back to Spain in what has been called the beginning of the slave trade. Rethinking Schools (An Urban Educational Journal) is proud to present a special edition of its newspaper to help teachers, students, and parents provide a critical, pro-Native perspective on the Columbus quincentenary. Published in collaboration with the Network of Educators on Central America, "Rethinking Columbus" offers 96 pages of resources and teaching ideas for kindergarten through college. One copy: $4.00 plus $2.00 postage/handling. Mail to: Rethinking Schools 1001 E. Keefe Ave Milwaukee, WI 53212 (414) 964-9646 (Bulk pricing for dealers, distributors and bookstores is available. Call or write for info)