When you run out indigenous people, just grab Ecuadorians.

Mahopac’s Columbus Day Parade got a glowing write-up in Mid-Hudson News — complete with a headline about “large crowds” and a photo of… two Ecuadorian women.

That’s right — Ecuador. A country Columbus never set foot in. A country whose lands, people, and culture were plundered by the Spanish colonizers who came after him.

It’s almost poetic — the photo choice screams, “See? Even Indigenous-looking people support Columbus!” Because when your headline glorifies the parade as a sunny cultural triumph, you need an image that sells inclusion — even if it’s historically upside down.

The Wappinger people, whose land Mahopac actually sits on, get zero mention. Their name survives only on the town sign — while their descendants are long erased. But sure, let’s celebrate the colonizer and throw in two brown faces to make it feel diverse.

Mid-Hudson News didn’t just miss the irony. They published it.

Maybe the next headline should read:

“Summer-like delusion greets large crowds for Columbus Day Parade — featuring nations he never visited.”