Native gathering forgives Columbus

Columbus forgiven as part local Native American gathering in Carbondale

Carbondale to be center for new dialogue on reconciliation

By John Stroud“At first, this concept of forgiving Columbus was very hard for me to process,” Nenadich said during a press conference Monday at Carbondale Town Hall called to announce the outcomes of last week's XI Native Gathering of the Americas.

“His ship was sinking, and we saved their lives,” Nenadich said. “We gave them food and welcomed them with open arms.

“The next year, they came back and started to extinguish us,” he said. “So, for me it was hard to understand.”

But the symbolic gesture, offered by tribal leaders during one of the most inclusive assemblages of indigenous people ever to convene, became part of a central theme of the recent gathering.

As part of the proceedings, a special ceremony for forgiving Christopher Columbus' spirit took place on Sunday, Dec. 6, at Sustainable Settings Ranch outside Carbondale, according to a press release distributed at Monday's press conference.Comment:  Does anybody else want to forgive Columbus?

Getting Columbus to repent and redeem himself was the theme of Orson Scott Card's Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus.

For more on the subject, see This Ain't No Party, This Ain't No Disco:  A Columbus Day Rant.

Below:  "Dr. Ramon Nenadich, the main organizer of last week's XI Native Gathering of the Americas in Carbondale, speaks during a Monday press conference at Carbondale Town Hall to announce the outcomes of the gathering." (John Stroud Post Independent)