Read an NPR investigation of what Columbus Day means for Native Americans.

Oct. 9 each year also honors Nordic explorer Leif Erickson, since a 2005 proclamation by President Bush.

Read an Oct. 5, 2012 Wired article about the movement to rename Columbus Day as “Exploration Day,” to preserve the history of America and its discovery while keeping the story true to its essence in regards to the violence towards the Native Americans.

Read a poll about whether or not Columbus Day should continue to be celebrated as a national holiday. This poll provides reasoning behind both sides of the debate.

Read an Oct. 8, 2012 ABC News article about the history of Christopher Columbus finding the Americas, and how that story might change depending on the point of view.

The PBS show Frontline did a special called Apocalypse, which included exploring whether Columbus believed he was on an apocalyptic, divinely-ordained mission. See a page of short essays.

Steve Hays is an associate professor in the department of classics and world religions at Ohio University in Athens. With funding from the Ford Foundation, he is helping to develop a Difficult Dialogues Concerning Race and Religion program.

Linell Cady is a professor of religious studies and director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University in Tempe. The center, founded in 2003, studies the conflict created when diverse religious traditions and the secular world collide.

Bruce Coriell is the chaplain at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. He has taught theory and method, multi-disciplinary approaches to the study of religion and religious communities. His focus is on the intersection between religion and the natural world, as well as the field of indigenous religious traditions.