Declaring Indigenous Peoples' Day on the same date as Columbus Day is an attempt to delete a part of U.S. history ["'Basta!' Italian Americans to fight Seattle's Columbus Day slight," Local News, Oct. 9].

European exploration of the Americas led to subjugation of New World natives and African slaves. It wasn't pretty. But it's also the reason the majority of us are now living in Seattle, rather than in our ancestors' European cities. We shouldn't ignore that history, but recognize and understand it, warts and all. Replacing one observance with the other is not "reconciliation," but an attempt at attitude control through legislation.

Read more

Source: http://blogs.seattletimes.com