I walked into the Seville Cathedral, in 1998, and, unprepared, found myself face-to-face with Cristoforo Colombo’s tomb. History classes had taught me he had “discovered” the Americas. My young mind could not make sense of how an European explorer could “discover” lands already home to millions of fellow humans. Even a young mind could grasp the implications in the narrative of “discovery” of the Americas: Europeans were superior to Indigenous peoples. After decades of curiosity and formal education, I finally had a chance to say a few words to Colombo’s remains in person. Here is my letter to him.
