Flashback: Harris slammed European explorers for ushering in 'devastation for tribal nations'
Vice President Kamala Harris declared in 2021 that the U.S. "must not shy away" from its "shameful past" of European explorers who she said ushered "in a wave of devastation for tribal nations," unearthed remarks show.
Vice President Kamala Harris doubled down on her recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day amid outrage on social media over her unearthed support of renaming Columbus Day.
"This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I am thinking about the young Indigenous leaders I met in Arizona last week. I am counting on their leadership and looking forward to our partnership," Harris posted to her campaign X account late Monday afternoon.
The post comes as videos of Harris from both 2019 and 2021 have spread like wildfire across social media platforms, spotlighting Harris' previous comments supporting the renaming of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and admonishing European explorers for unleashing a "wave of devastation for Tribal nations" when they reached the Americas in the late 1400s.
"Count me in on support," Harris told a voter in New Hampshire in 2019 when asked if she supports renaming Columbus Day "Indigenous People’s Day," footage of the event shows. Harris' remarks came roughly a month after she launched her ultimately failed 2020 run for the White House.
The Trump campaign slammed Harris over her unearthed comments in 2019, in an exclusive comment to Fox News Digital on Sunday.
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"Kamala Harris is your stereotypical leftist. Not only does she want to raise taxes and defund the police — she also wants to cancel American traditions like Columbus Day," Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a church service at Koinonia Christian Center in Greenville, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
"President Trump will make sure Christopher Columbus’ great legacy is honored and protect this holiday from radical leftists who want to erase our nation’s history like Kamala Harris."
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Back in 2021, Harris said as vice president that the U.S. "must not shy away" from its "shameful past" of European explorers who she said ushered "in a wave of devastation."
Portrait of Christopher Columbus, 1519. Found in the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Artist: Piombo, Sebastiano, del (1485-1547). (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
"Since 1934, every October, the United States has recognized the voyage of the European explorers who first landed on the shores of the Americas," Harris said during the National Congress of American Indians' 78th Annual Convention on Oct. 12, 2021.
"But that is not the whole story. That has never been the whole story," Harris continued in her 2021 speech.
"Those explorers ushered in a wave of devastation for Tribal nations — perpetrating violence, stealing land and spreading disease," she continued. "We must not shy away from this shameful past, and we must shed light on it and do everything we can to address the impact of the past on Native communities today."
Columbus Day is a federal holiday that officially celebrates and recognizes Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas in 1492. Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed a proclamation in 1934 making Columbus Day a national holiday following lobbying from the Italian American and Catholic communities.
Vice President Harris addresses the National Congress of American Indians' 78th Annual Convention in 2021. (White House )
Activists in recent years have worked to disassociate the day from Columbus, claiming it celebrates colonialism and genocide of indigenous people, in favor of celebrating Native Americans. Activists have also worked to remove Columbus statues from cities, including toppling such statues during the riots of 2020.
Protesters surround a statue of Christopher Columbus before marching, eventually returning and pulling it down in Richmond, Virginia, June 9, 2020. (PARKER MICHELS-BOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)
President Biden became the first president in 2021 to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the same holiday.
Harris has consistently celebrated Indigenous Peoples' Day over Columbus Day, with her official vice presidential X account acknowledging the holiday each year since 2021, while searching for "Columbus Day" on her account turns up no results.
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Her X post Monday celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day comes as social media commenters slammed her over the unearthed remarks from both 2019 and 2021.
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Fox News Digital has repeatedly reached out to the Harris campaign since Sunday regarding her previous comments, but did not receive a reply. Fox Digital reached out to the campaign again late Monday afternoon asking if the vice president would end the recognition of Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day considering her latest tweet, but did not immediately receive a reply.
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