This audio recording* is from the American Myths Symposium held at the Arch Street United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, PA on October 7, 2015. The moderator and second speaker is Dr. David M. Krueger who invited Dr. John Norwood to also speak at the event. Why are so many in the U.S. preoccupied with the notion that America was discovered? Columbus’s exploration of the Caribbean is often understand as discovering a “New World.”
The world was certainly not new to the millions of people lived in North America for tens of thousands of years prior to 1492. Columbus’s arrival initiated immense suffering to Native people and their population was quickly decimated due to disease, war, and enslavement. White Americans have long had peculiar notions about what happened in North America prior to Columbus. The quest to find evidence of Vikings, lost tribes of Israel, ancient Egyptians, etc., exemplify that many American are only interested in pre-Columbian history if it involves non-indigenous people. Following the two presentation by Rev. Dr. John Norwood and Dr. David M. Krueger, a discussion ensued about building a movement to persuade to City of Philadelphia to end the recognition of Columbus Day as a civic holiday.*Source: https://davidkrueger.org/events/american-myths/myth-of-discovery/
