‘Down With Columbus’ : American Indians: Demonstrators march in downtown Los Angeles to protest celebrations planned to mark the 500th anniversary of the explorer’s arrival in the New World.

In what organizers promised was the first of many demonstrations, about 150 American Indians and their supporters marched through downtown Los Angeles Saturday to protest next year’s 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World.

Carrying placards proclaiming “Columbus was a Hitler to Native Americans,” “No Way Columbus Day” and “500 Years of Genocide,” the marchers decried celebrations planned worldwide over the next year commemorating the quincentennial of Columbus’ 1492 voyage.

“Everyone seems to celebrate Christopher Columbus and they say that he discovered America,” said Nazario Segura, 20, of Echo Park. “That is wrong. We discovered him. We gave him food and shelter. We thought he was friendly. Then we found out he was not.”

The American Indians, many dressed in traditional garb and headdresses, gathered outside a shelter for homeless American Indians on Winston Street near Skid Row. Organizers said the site was chosen to symbolize centuries of poor treatment American Indians have received from European invaders, often making them “homeless in our own homeland.”

The demonstrators then marched down 4th Street, Broadway and 7th Street, blocking traffic and shouting to motorists and pedestrians. Some chanted, “Honor all treaties,” while others shouted, “Down with Columbus!” About a dozen dancers and drummers joined the marchers, dancing traditional rituals honoring the sun, the Earth and ancestors.

“It is time to speak out,” said Christina Oliva, 24, a Cocopah Indian from South-Central Los Angeles. “It is time to let people know that we aren’t going to just step back and allow Columbus to have his day. We believe that he stole America from the American Indians. We were here first. He did not find us. Nobody said we were lost.”

The marchers converged on Pershing Square, where they held a small rally. Vendors sold anti-Columbus T-shirts and pins, and several activist groups and political parties took advantage of the gathering to enlist members and distribute literature.

Several speakers reserved their harshest criticism for organizers of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, who recently selected a direct descendant of Columbus to preside over the 103rd parade in January. A Pasadena councilman has also criticized the choice, describing Cristobal Colon, a Spanish nobleman, as “a symbol of greed, slavery, rape and genocide.”