Make It A Native Thanksgiving

Relatives I don't want to sound like a party spoiler…but really think about it
Thanksgiving Day, Columbus Day and some other holidays are no cause for celebration in native communities.
Some of these holidays feel offensive to the spirit. More often then not, these are days filled with a sadness of heart we all know to well.
I know like me some of you often think why are there still holidays that celebrate the genocide, slavery.rape, and murder of the native peoples of the Americas.

So what to do on these days after all it is really hard to ignore all the holiday hype? And who doesn't like a great dinner or even a holiday party.
How can we as native people in a good way not get lost in the celebration of lies? and enjoy the free time.
How can we share with our non native friends and still help them understand that in ignoring the truth that brought about many of these holidays? Humanity directly or in directly sanctions the devastation of our peoples and our cultures.

Well I have some suggestions I thought to share. They are only suggestions
Nothing more

1-Take the day and visit the American Indian Museum with your family and bring along your non-native friends. History has meaning. And it is a good way for others to learn about our people.
We also can learn and reinforce in our own families that in order to understand who we are, we need an authentic exploration of our past, including the pain, suffering and oppression of our people...

2-No museum near by…Ok so make a story circle invite some non-native friends and tell the truth about Thanks giving around the dinner table. Create an open discussion , aimed at fostering a better understanding of our people and our respective communities.

3-If you follow the Christian way or any other religion then speak about Thanks giving from a native perspective in your church, synagogue or place of worship.
These are just a few suggestions.prehaps some of you reading this can share some others.

You see, if we do not remind the world of truth, the world soon forgets it.
If we do not remind the world of the holocaust of our people there is the very real possibility of yet another one.

So enjoy the Turkey with all its trimmings…hey it's not the Turkeys' fault…pass the mash potatoes.pasteles, tamales or fry bread.
Share with friends and family and make the day one of Ancestral honoring as well as one of Native Pride Activism and Awareness.

Maybe just maybe these days can also teach us that together we all must try as people of the world to make a better tomorrow possible for all of humanity…

Peace and good day's be with you all relatives
In the Spirit of the Ancestors Elder Yuyabao-aru

First official document proclaiming
"THANKSGIVING"
As we know it today
came after the event below

The year was 1637.....700 men, women and children of the Pequot Tribe, gathered for their "Annual Green Corn Dance" in the area that is now known as Groton, Conn.

While they were gathered in this place of meeting, they were surrounded and attacked by mercenaries of the English and Dutch. The Indians were ordered from the building and as they came forth, they were shot down. The rest were burned alive in the building.

The next day, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared: "A day of Thanksgiving, thanking God that they had eliminated over 700 men, women and children. For the next 100 years, every "Thanksgiving Day" ordained by a Governor or President was to honor that victory, thanking God that the battle had been won.

Source: Documents of Holland, 13 Volume Colonial Documentary History, letters and reports form colonial officials to their superiors and the King in England and the private papers of Sir William Johnson, British Indian agent for the New York colony for 30 years. Researched by William B. Newell (Penobscot Tribe) Former Chairman of the University of Connecticut Anthropology Department



Mistakes, Lies & Misconceptions
about American Indian people
The Thanksgiving Myth

Let me begin by stating that thousands of years before the 'official'
Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by Governor Winthrop of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637, North American Indigenous
people across the continent had celebrated seasons of Thanksgiving.
'Thanksgiving' is a very ancient concept to American Indian nations.
The big problem with the American Thanksgiving holiday is its false
association with American Indian people. The infamous 'Indians and
pilgrims' myth. It is good to celebrate Thanksgiving, to be thankful
for your blessings. It is not good to distort history, to falsely portray
the origin of this holiday and lie about the truth of its actual inception.
Here are some accurate historical facts about the true origin of this
American holiday that may interest you.........................................
'Thanksgiving' did not begin as a great loving relationship between the
pilgrims and the Wampanoag, Pequot and Narragansett people. In fact,
in October of 1621 when the 'pilgrim' survivors of their first winter in
Turtle Island sat down to share the first unofficial 'Thanksgiving' meal,
the Indians who were there were not even invited! There was no turkey,
squash, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie. A few days before this alleged
feast took place, a company of 'pilgrims' led by Miles Standish actively
sought the head of a local Indian leader, and an 11 foot high wall was
erected around the entire Plymouth settlement for the very purpose of
keeping Indians out! Officially, the holiday we know as 'Thanksgiving'
actually came into existence in the year 1637. Governor Winthrop of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony proclaimed this first official day of Thanksgiving
and feasting to celebrate the return of the colony's men who had arrived
safely from what is now Mystic, Connecticut. They had gone there to
participate in the massacre of over 700 Pequot men, women and children,
and Mr. Winthrop decided to dedicate an official day of thanksgiving
complete with a feast to 'give thanks' for their great 'victory'... .
As hard as it may be to conceive, this is the actual origin of our current
Thanksgiving Day holiday. Many American Indian people these days do
not observe this holiday, for obvious reasons. I see nothing wrong with
gathering with family to give thanks to our Creator for our blessings and
sharing a meal. I do, however, hope that Americans as a whole will one
day acknowledge the true origin of this holiday, and remember the pain,
loss, and agony of the Indigenous people who suffered at the hands of
the so-called 'pilgrims'. It is my hope that children's plays about 'the
first Thanksgiving', complete with Indians and pilgrims chumming at
the dinner table, will someday be a thing of the past. Why perpetuate
a lie? Let us face the truths of the past, and give thanks that we are
learning to love one another for the rich human diversity we share.
(Written by John Two-Hawks)
http://www.nativeci rcle.com/ mlmThanksgivingm yth.html