Thanksgiving or The Day of A.I.R.
Well, it's that time of the year once more. I know many are planning and preparing for their Thanksgiving Day celebration next Thursday. This is a time of gratitude for most for the many blessings that surround them.
To me, Thanksgiving is known as The Day of A.I.R. -- or The Day of American Indian Remembrance. I would, however, like to take you back to the original Thanksgiving, and the myth that most believers follow today.
The story that follows is but a small fraction of those of the American Indian. These stories are passed down from family to family, tribe to tribe, in a collection I call "The Unforgotten Lies, and Untold Truths of the Original Native Americans."
The Myth of Thanksgiving Day
As we look back, we can see that many Thanksgiving stories have been recorded throughout this nation's history. For my people, this is a time of the harvest, when in return we give thanks to the Great Creator for providing us with what our hands have brought out of the ground from the earth's production. Our celebration of the feast with the Pilgrims that everyone recalls, however, has a much darker history than most are familiar with.
During the earliest days of the Pilgrims, 12,000 acres were requested of the Indians for settlement purposes, and a treaty was agreed upon. To celebrate this treaty, a feast was prepared, both by Indians and Pilgrims (for which the Indians supplied most of the food.) So in 1621, it can be said that the beginning of the perpetuating myth of Thanksgiving was born into "reality" as we know it.
But sadly, the full and accurate details of the true history of Thanksgiving are not provided to this nation's children in their textbooks. While teachers are busy photocopying pictures of Indians and Pilgrims, along with various foods, turkeys, and other animals for children to color as part of their "Thanksgiving activities," the ugly truths surrounding the history of this "holiday" are not only omitted, but also twisted into a shameful parody of the facts. The "celebration" of the commonly conveyed "fairytale" version of Thanksgiving -- without regard or acknowledgement of the actual historical events that took place -- is a sick and twisted disregard for human rights, as well as an affront to Native Americans.
Just two years after the treaty was signed, and 12,000 acres of land given to the settlers, the colonists invited Massasoit, Chief of the Wampanoags, to their first feast, symbolizing "Eternal Friendship." Massasoit accepted the invitation, and along with 200 of his people, came to the feast. The English offered previously- prepared foods and drinks, and soon thereafter, 200 Indians "mysteriously" fell dead from unknown poisons.
The first recognized Thanksgiving took place in 1637, some 16 years later, amidst war between settlers and Pequot Indians. 700 men, women, and children of the Pequot tribe were gathering for their annual Green Corn Dance on what is now Groton, Connecticut. Dutch and English mercenaries surrounded the tribe's camp, and proceeded to shoot, stab, butcher and burn alive all 700 members of the tribe.
What?? You mean you haven't heard this story before?
The following day, the Massachusetts Bay Colony held a feast in celebration, and was declared "A Day of Thanksgiving." In the ensuing madness of Indian extermination, Indians were scalped, mutilated, burned, and even sold into slavery -- and this "thankful" feast was held as a celebration of each massacre that took place. This was later declared by the Churches of Manhattan as a day of Thanksgiving to celebrate victory over the "Heathen Savages," as the Indians were called. Many settlers took delight in kicking the severed heads of fallen Indians through the streets as amusement. This is the horrid, but sadly accurate history of what nearly all Americans celebrate on Thanksgiving each year.
On June 20, 1676, Edward Rawson was unanimously voted by the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, to proclaim June 29th as the first day of Thanksgiving. It was not until 1863 that Abe Lincoln, needing a wave of patriotism to hold the country together, that Thanksgiving was officially declared a national holiday.
Understandably, adamant protests about the celebration of Thanksgiving have taken place over the years. As early as 1863, Pequot Indian Minister William Apess urged "every man of color" to mourn the day of the Pilgrim's landing, and to bury Plymouth Rock in protest. In 1970 Apess got his way. As 1970 marked the 350th anniversary of Thanksgiving, it became the first proclaimed national day of mourning for American Indians. (Thanks, Artemise.)
Since 1970 and the establishment of a national day of mourning, American Indians have continued to voice their objections to and protest the celebration of Thanksgiving. In 1996, the United American Indians of New England finally put a stop to the annual "pilgrim parade" – the marchers were forced to turn around, and were run back to the seaside. Hundreds of years too late, some would say.
In 1997, peacefully gathered Indian protesters were assaulted by the local Plymouth Police Department, the County Sheriff's Department, as well as State Troopers -- on horseback and in full riot gear. Native men, women, children, and elders were beaten, pepper sprayed, and gassed. Nearly 30 were arrested. Among the natives who were protesting for the remembrance of their people, and how the present-day settlers were so lightly depicting the false origins of this holiday were Blacks, Latinos, and some Whites, standing strong for the terrible truths now known and the laughing hearts of those who would continue to disregard the memories of the loss of life and inhumane acts against the original Native Americans. Later, videotapes surfaced to confirm the assaults and ensuing police brutality against these protesters.
Now you have read a brief history of the true story behind Thanksgiving. This is why, as Native American Indians, we celebrate Thanksgiving as The Day of A.I.R. -- The Day of American Indian Remembrance. Remembering what we have been subjected to in the name of the "New World." Another holiday celebrated on the day following Thanksgiving is National American Indian Day. It is somewhat gratifying to know that hundreds of years later, Native American Indians are finally being recognized.
I would like to thank Artemise for some informative subjects for the completion of this story of "The Unforgotten Lies and Untold Truths of the Original Native Americans." Also, I would like to thank my friend Jennifer for the editing of this story. It appears my english in writing is not that good. So, "S-gi Dalone'ga Kama'ma."
Peace and blessings be with you all my brothers and sisters. "Separate we are weak like one twig easily broken, but together as many we are hard to break."
Rain Fallen Crow
