Earlier today on social media, Rev. Sandlin shared the following to both mark Indigenous Peoples’ Day and comment on President Trump’s preference for celebrating Columbus Day instead.
Of Course Trump Wants
Columbus Day Back
By Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin
October 13, 2025
It’s not surprising that Donald Trump wants to turn Indigenous Peoples’ Day back into Columbus Day. That’s not irony. It’s the most predictable thing in the world.
Christopher Columbus wasn’t the hero we were taught about in school. He didn’t “discover” anything. He stumbled onto lands already full of life, story, and wisdom . . . and decided they were his. What followed was violence, enslavement, and genocide, all wrapped up in a shiny story about destiny.
And now, five hundred years later, another man obsessed with his own greatness wants to restore the holiday of the man who started it all.
Trump isn’t just defending a date on the calendar. He’s defending a way of seeing the world: where conquest gets called courage, and cruelty gets dressed up as greatness.
Columbus built his legend out of lies. When his voyages fell apart, he blamed others. When he was arrested for brutality, he called himself a victim. Trump does the same. Every failure becomes someone else’s fault. Every truth he doesn’t like becomes “fake news.” Both men have built their power by controlling the story and rewriting it when the truth gets in the way.
Columbus claimed divine purpose while enslaving people in the name of faith. He said he was spreading Christianity, but what he really spread was fear. Trump has learned the same trick. He waves a Bible like a prop, shouts about “Christian values,” and somehow convinces people that following Jesus means putting others beneath you. Both men use religion as a mirror that only reflects themselves.
Columbus ruled through violence. He treated human beings as obstacles. He punished resistance with brutality. Trump rules through division and resentment. He treats compassion like weakness and cruelty like strength. Both see domination as proof they’re right.
And both needed someone to blame. Columbus called Indigenous people “natural slaves.” Trump blames immigrants, Muslims, Black activists, and anyone who won’t kneel to his vision of America. Different century. Same sickness. Both build their power on white fear.
Columbus demanded titles and honors. Trump collects headlines and loyalty pledges. Both are fragile men pretending to be strong, desperate for devotion that feels like love but isn’t. When they talk about “greatness,” what they really mean is control.
They’re separated by centuries, but not by spirit. Both are ruled by a lust for empire. Columbus opened the door for European domination and called it discovery. Trump wraps the same logic in a red hat and calls it patriotism. The stories they tell are nearly identical: that the world belongs to the bold, that power makes you righteous, that violence can be redeemed by a good flag and a better slogan.
So, of course, Trump wants to “restore” Columbus Day. He sees himself in that mirror. He’s not protecting tradition.
He’s protecting the myth that built him.
The myth that some lives matter more than others.
The myth that might makes right.
The myth that history belongs to those who shout loudest and conquer fastest.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day tells a different kind of truth.
It refuses to keep worshiping empire.
It remembers the people who survived “discovery.”
It lifts up the voices America tried to silence.
It invites us to tell better stories, stories that make room for everyone.
That’s what really terrifies Trump. Not the loss of a holiday, but the loss of a lie.
The loss of a world where the powerful get to define what’s good, what’s true, and who counts.
So yes, of course he wants Columbus back on the calendar.
It’s not just about history.
It’s about holding onto a myth that keeps men like him in charge.
But the truth has a way of surviving, no matter how hard empire fights to silence it. That’s why Indigenous Peoples’ Day matters. It’s not just a different name. It’s a different way of seeing, one that says greatness isn’t about conquest. It’s about courage, honesty, and love that refuses to dehumanize anyone.
And that’s the kind of story worth celebrating.
– Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin
“Of Course Trump Wants Columbus Day Back”
October 13, 2025
“Of Course Trump Wants Columbus Day Back”
October 13, 2025
Related Off-site Links:
Stories of Resistance: Indigenous Peoples’ Day – Michael Fox (The Real News Network, October 13, 2025).
Trump Declares Columbus Day, Omits Indigenous Peoples’ Day Recognition – Native News Online (October 9, 2025).
This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, We Don’t Need Celebration. We Need Our Land Back – Krystal Two Bulls and Nick Tilsen (In These Times, October 12, 2020).
Noam Chomsky: World Indigenous People Only Hope for Human Survival – teleSUR (July 26, 2016).
The Real Christopher Columbus – Howard Zinn (Jacobin, October 12, 2015).
Five Young Native Americans on What Indigenous Peoples’ Day Means to Them – Sarah Ruiz-Grossman (The Huffington Post, October 9, 2017).
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Kanipawit Maskwa: “The Land Still Remembers”
• Words of Wisdom on Indigenous Peoples’ Day
• Something to Think About – October 9, 2017
• Something to Think About – February 23, 2017
• Something to Think About – October 13, 2015
• Quote of the Day – September 27, 2015
• Something Special for Indigenous Peoples’ Day
• “It Is All Connected”
• Forever Oneness
• Standing Together
• Standing in Prayer and Solidarity with the Water Protectors of Standing Rock
• At Standing Rock and Beyond, Celebrating and Giving Thanks for a “Historic Decision”
• Come, Spirit . . .
• Exploring the Meaning and History of “Two-Spirit”
• Tony Enos on Understanding the Two-Spirit Community
• North America: Perhaps Once the “Queerest Continent on the Planet”
• The Landscape Is a Mirror
• “Something Sacred Dwells There”
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