Groups gathered in Tucson's Christopher Columbus Park Oct. 8, 2017, to demand the city change the name.
The City of Tucson may rename Christopher Columbus Park after a local Tohono O’odham leader. But, the plan is now seeing pushback.
The President of Tucson’s Chapter of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service order, sent a letter to Major Regina Romero asking the city to retain the name.
“We may have differences among us as Americans, but we all should recognize the historical importance of Christopher Columbus and his relation to the creation and prosperity of the United States of America,” President Thomas Bayham said.
But, others, like the Tucson Native Youth Council, want the park renamed to honor Danny Lopez, a Tohono O’odham teacher, who they say embodied “the values of inclusivity and empowerment that should define our public spaces.”
When the project was proposed to the city by Lopez’s family, the council, and community members, they said that the current name “glorifies a man whose actions perpetuated the mass genocide, abuse and oppression of Indigenous peoples.”
“His name is a reminder that we, Indigenous peoples’, are not supposed to be here,” the coalition wrote. “Christopher Columbus’ legacy continues to inflict harm upon our community.”
Instead, they say memorializing leaders like Lopez would be a step toward reconciliation and healing. Lopez was a Tohono O’odham elder, who taught Himdag–the tribe’s way of life–to Tohono O’odham tribal members for over 30 years. Lopez died in 2008, but community leaders say “his unwavering dedication to preserving Tohono O’odham knowledge and nurturing the next generation lives on.”
Both council members Lane Santa Cruz and Kevin Dahl have agreed to split the $10,000 that would be needed to rename the park. Those funds, which would come out of their Wards’ budgets, would be used to change signs and other areas that say Christopher Columbus Park.
Tucson City Council has not finalized the plan but is still accepting public comments about the proposal through November 25th. In an interview with AZPM, Dahl said he would vote yes to change the name.
But others like Bayham, do not share the same sentiments.
“I do not intend to disparage any of the local people who have done great things for our community and they are rightfully praised and recognized,” Bayham said. “However let us not replace our historically significant figures for reasons of conjecture or factually inaccurate narratives which seem to take hold into our culture.”
In 1990, the Knights of Columbus worked to rename the park in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage.
“While he did lead voyages of exploration to the Americas, he was not directly responsible for any of the tragic misdeeds or calamities which naturally followed explorers into new lands in the wake of explorations.”
When Christopher Columbus found no gold during his exploration, he enslaved the Taíno people, natives to the Caribbean islands. It is estimated that Native America lost 95% of its population in the 130 years after first contact was made, according to the National Museum of the American Indian.
When asked what she thought of the letter from the Knights of Columbus, Mayor Regina Romero said:
"When we call attention to the people who lived here, to our history and heritage, we acknowledge that there is power in naming. This park is located on the ancestral lands of the Tohono O'odham who have stewarded these lands since time immemorial. This particular area has both cultural and archaeological significance. We must honor that.”
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