Thursday, November 28, 2013

I learned that in 1637 the body of a white man was discovered dead in a boat. Armed settlers -- which we tell our children were God fearing, gentle, sharing, kind Pilgrims -- invaded a Pequot village. They also set the village, which included many children, on fire. Those who were lucky enough to escape the fire were systematically sought, hunted down and killed. While many, including historians, still debate what exactly happened this day, also known as the Pequot Massacre, it directly led to the creation of "Thanksgiving Day." This is what the governor of Bay Colony had to say days after the massacre, "A day of thanksgiving. Thanking God that they had eliminated over 700 men, women and children."

In America the overarching myths about Thanksgiving overshadow the historical truth regarding the Genocide of Native Americans.

Whenever historical truths get in the way of America's Mythology the Myths are merely restated and reinstated as it were.
Americans in general are unwilling, unable or incapable of confronting their history which is steeped in violence and racism.
The genocidal assault on Native Americans competed with the assault on African Americans from the brutality and injustices of slavery to American Apartheid under Jim Crow to the present unequal and unjust treatment of Black and Hispanic Americans and other minorities.
America based upon its belief in its "exceptionalism", "Manifest destiny" and the idea that it is "God's City on the Hill" historically and currently continues its Imperialistic project of widening and deepening its hegemony around the Globe by any and all means at its disposal from spying that is gathering intelligence to targeted assassinations, kidnappings , renditions,torture, Drone strikes , massive bombings and invasion of other nations with no regard to international law or even notions of human decency .
The rendition, torturing and summary execution of America's so-called enemies is seen as justified.

For most Americans, Thanksgiving commemorates a shared feast between Native Americans and European colonists, but the history that followed the feast is not a happy one. How do Native Americans approach the problematic national holiday?
Originally aired on November 26, 2013
Hosted by: Nancy Redd
Guests:
Chase Iron Eyes @lastrealindians (Bismarck, ND) Attorney, Founder of lastrealindians.com
Dennis Zotigh @NDN Culture (Washington, DC) Museum Cultural Specialist at the National Museum of the American Indian
Jacqueline Keeler @jfkeeler (Portland, OR) Native American Writer
Terra Trevor (Santa Barbara, CA) Writer

The sad reality about the United States of America is that in a matter of a few hundreds years it managed to rewrite its own history into a mythological fantasy. The concepts of liberty, freedom and free enterprise in the “land of the free, home of the brave” are a mere spin. The US was founded and became prosperous based on two original sins: firstly, on the mass murder of Native Americans and theft of their land by European colonialists; secondly, on slavery. This grim reality is far removed from the fairytale version of a nation that views itself in its collective consciousness as a virtuous universal agent for good and progress. The most recent version of this mythology was expressed by Ronald Reagan when he said that “America is a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere.”

In rewriting its own history about Thanksgiving, white America tells a Disney-like fairytale about the English pilgrims and their struggle to survive in a new and harsh environment. The pilgrims found help from the friendly Native-American tribe, the Wampanoag Indians, in 1621.

Unfortunately for Native Americans, the European settlers’ gratitude was short-lived. By 1637, Massachusetts governor John Winthrop ordered the massacre of thousands of Pequot Indian men, women and children. This event marked the start of a Native-American genocide that would take slightly more than 200 years to complete, and of course to achieve its ultimate goal, which was to take the land from Native Americans and systematically plunder their resources. The genocide begun in 1637 marks the beginning of the conquest of the entire continent until most Native Americans were exterminated, a few were assimilated into white society, and the rest were put in reservations to dwindle and die.

In an article at Huff Post Nicole Breedlove argues that we have been misled about the origins of "Thanksgiving" as it is celebrated in the USA. It was not celebrated to commemorate a feast attended by Native Americans and the Pilgrim immigrants but rather to celebrate the massacre of some 700 Pequot Native Americans including men, women and children.

Thanksgiving has never been a celebratory holiday in my family. Whenever my family did cook we always gave thanks that all the Native Americans weren't wiped out when Columbus "discovered" America. I never understood why my family was so against Thanksgiving. In school we drew turkeys with our hands and it was a happy time. It meant a couple of days off from school. My teachers made it seem like Thanksgiving was a holiday to look forward to. The New York City public education system told me what Thanksgiving was all about. I was very careful to regurgitate what they taught me when tested so I wouldn't get a failing grade. When I was older though I was told the truth by my family.

My great, great, great, great grandfather was a part of a band of Black Indians in Florida, hence my unique and Native American-sounding last name. It seems I come from a long line of warriors and activists. I am a revolutionary not by choice but by lineage. When I did finally learn, there was no stopping me. Whenever someone asked what I was doing for Thanksgiving I proudly stated that I no longer celebrate it. Thanksgiving day should be known as National Land Theft and American Genocide Day.

I learned that in 1637 the body of a white man was discovered dead in a boat. Armed settlers -- which we tell our children were God fearing, gentle, sharing, kind Pilgrims -- invaded a Pequot village. They also set the village, which included many children, on fire. Those who were lucky enough to escape the fire were systematically sought, hunted down and killed. While many, including historians, still debate what exactly happened this day, also known as the Pequot Massacre, it directly led to the creation of "Thanksgiving Day." This is what the governor of Bay Colony had to say days after the massacre, "A day of thanksgiving. Thanking God that they had eliminated over 700 men, women and children."

William B. Newell, a Penobscot Indian and former chairman of the Anthropology Department at the University of Connecticut stated, "Gathered in this place of meeting, they were attacked by mercenaries and English and Dutch. The Indians were ordered from the building and as they came forth were shot down, The rest were burned alive in the building. The very next day the governor declared a Thanksgiving Day. For the next 100 years, every Thanksgiving Day ordained by a Governor was in honor of the bloody victory, thanking God that the battle had been won."

When I finally found out the origins of Thanksgiving it made me nauseous. Never again will I celebrate a holiday I know nothing about until I investigate its origins. I am very thankful, pun intended, that I learned about the origins of this holiday. It is a reminder that history can be rewritten and if told enough times eventually becomes the truth!