Columbus Day Legacy

Bennie Klain's documentary short focuses on the controversy surrounding 2007's centennial edition of the Columbus Day parade in Denver, CO. While the local Italian-American community viewed the march as an affirmation of its ethnic heritage and its long struggle to win social acceptance (the 1907 Denver event was the first of its kind in the United States), the resident Native American population saw the veneration of Columbus as a celebration of the destruction of the continent's indigenous population by European invaders. The parade organizers seem genuinely baffled by the brouhaha; one pointedly says, “It's two hours once a year. What's the big deal?” But the activists consider the parade to be a continuation of a history of racist policies against tribal communities (it doesn't help that the 2006 iteration included historic re-enactors dressed as the U.S. Cavalry unit responsible for the hideous 1864 Sand Creek Massacre of the Cheyenne). Klain, a Navajo filmmaker, does a fine job capturing the stridency surrounding the situation, interweaving footage of the parade and the protestors together with balanced interviews from both sides. Sad, disturbing, and thought-provoking, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)