When Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492 with his crew, one of the first acts of European colonization they commited wasn't the taking of indigenous lands but the misnaming of the entire indigenous population on the continent (a variety of different people) with the singular label of "Indian" because they believed that they had arrived in India. Although it became quickly known that these European explorers weren't anywhere close to South Asia, the name stuck. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣I wish I could say that this was the worst thing Columbus did but him and his men would go on to ruthlessly pillage, rape, enslave and mass murder the people who were already there. Today, Columbus Day is celebrated throughout most of the United States with numerous streets and prominent statues dedicated to him. ⁣ “How I loathe the term ‘Indian.’ ‘Indian’ is used to sell things — souvenirs, cigars, cigarettes, gasoline, cars ... ‘Indian’ is a figment of the white man’s imagination,” said indigenous author Lenore Keeshig-Tobias.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Source: "The Invention of Indian", facinghistory.org⁣⁣⁣