Indigenous People's Day

Old Chris Columbus was sitting at a bar with friends after "discovering" the Americas. His pals were teasing him, that anyone who happened to have sailed that far would have simply bumped into this place. No big deal they insisted. 

Chris then challenged his buddies to try to balance a hard boiled egg on its end and after they tried and failed, he tapped the egg on its end, making a slight flat spot and proceeded to balance it on its tip. "Anyone could do that," his  friends roared. "Yes, now that I've shown you how," Chris replied.

And that's the story of the Columbus egg. Otto Salomon, in his development of Educational Sloyd referred to his systematic introduction of tools and techniques following a natural pattern of growth within the child as his Columbus egg. A thing as simple as tapping an egg on its end, but of enormous value.

Whether or not the story of Chris and his hardboiled egg is true, the consequences of his "discovery" of America were enormous. And here we are today. The conquistadors  brought deadly diseases that preceded their conquests on both continents. And the indigenous peoples who had lived thousands of years in some degree of harmony with the land were pushed aside, their cultures nearly destroyed.

What was once celebrated as Columbus day, we now celebrate as Indigenous People's Day in the hopes that we can once again live with greater sensitivity to the earth and the plants and animals that share this lovely clouded blue dot in space circling around our sun.

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