the true origin of thanksgiving

I wanted to post this article not to put a damper on tomorrow's festivities but instead to reveal the truth in the hopes that our country would begin to be more honest about our true history, shameful as it may be at times. Tomorrow while we celebrate with family and friends let us also remember the Native American people and the centuries of struggles that they have had to endure at the hands of non-indigenous people.

The Thanksgiving Myth
Written by John Two-Hawks
Let me begin by stating that thousands of years before the 'official' Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by Governor Winthrop of the Massachussetts 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 Massachussetts 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.

at the moment

... I am unable to respond to messages or comments. We had an unexpected death in Phil's family and are in Michigan for the rest of the week/weekend. I will try to catch everyone up once we get back to Charlotte.

Please keep us in your prayers.

little things

Okay, first of all: I just want to update those of you who actually read my blogs. Phil and I are back in Charlotte after a week-long trip to Michigan. Phil's 22 month old nephew passed away unexpectedly last week so we went back to be with family. It's been difficult knowing how to grieve something so confusing and sudden. I'm sure it's never easy, but it's particularly tough for me, as a new mother, to grasp.

In that vein, I've come to be thankful for little things and have eased up on my expectations for myself as a mother. After all, I have a very lovely, very healthy son who loves to give me kisses lately, apparently likes to eat wads of paper, and he woke up this morning. So that in and of itself should be enough to help me overcome my aversion to supplementing his diet with formula or bemoaning the fact that it takes him up to an hour to fall asleep. Suddenly I am no longer sad that Ocean eats more formula than breastmilk. Suddenly the fact that he wants to be held all. day. long. is no longer a burden to me. Suddenly I don't mind being woken up by a cry in the middle of the night... because I'm just thankful to hear him cry.

Experiences in life don't happen to you; they become part of who you are. I hope that this changes me in a good way. I hope I will be a better mother knowing how short life is, and that tomorrow isn't a guarantee.

Okay, I'm off to watch a sleeping baby. Maybe he'll wake up so I can steal some more kisses.

Edited to add: I really have no problem with formula. Obviously, because I use it. My problem was more with the fact that breastfeeding has been such a struggle that I've had to resort to using formula instead of being able to supply all of my baby's nutrition myself. Certainly don't want to offend other formula feeders! Okay, now back to the regularly scheduled blog...

a fairy tale

Once upon a time in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess
happened upon a frog as she sat contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess's lap and said: "Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am and then, my sweet, we can marry and set up housekeeping in your castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so."

That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on lightly sauteed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled and thought to herself:

I don't freakin think so.

things i love today

I love wearing clothes that don't wear me. I can't stand it when I have to constantly "think about" what I have on. I loved my outfit today for that reason.

I love conspiracy theories. If you do too check out 911truth.org.

I love Ocean. He's getting so big and I can tell he loves me too and he really really misses me when we're not together. It's sweet.

I love nursing bras. Honestly. I'm not sure if it was the picture of Angelina Jolie on the cover of People magazine that changed my mind but by gosh I'm okay with my clasps poking out of my tank top now.

I love Burt's Bees. We've made the switch. No more parabens or sulfates for me or my family, thank you very much. Next thing to get replaced is the makeup but that will be a much more expensive undertaking.

I love football season. I walked in the house tonight to the sound of the Michigan State/Notre Dame game on the television and I was overcome with such great memories...

I love sleep. Which is why I'm signing off and going to bed.

an open letter

To the lead singer of the band who played at Buckhead on Saturday night:

Your band is comprised of some great, extremely talented musicians. However, we decided to leave after the third song. Mainly because we decided our time would be better spent getting home to our son.

Yes, that's right, I am a mother. Which is reason #358 why no, I do not want to "show my titties". If you were offering, say, TWO free CDs instead of just one, well then we might have a deal. For $15 no. For $30... maybe.

Being that your band (what was the name of it, again?) displayed phenomenal musicianship leaves me in this tension because, while I appreciated your Guns n' Roses cover, I did not appreciate the 27 F-bombs it took to explain which song you were going to do. Come to think of it, I'm still not sure which song it was. Effin' ef, effers.

And your rendition of Buckcherry's "Crazy Bitch" was just kick you in the crotch, spit on your neck fantastic. And not at all demeaning to the 43 year old woman in the front row who you kept trying to get to lift her shirt after many failed attempts with the few remaining women on the dance floor. Did you even give her her free CD?

In addition to your extensive vocabulary of cusses and ability to piss off every woman in the crowd, I was amazed at how good you were at clearing the dance floor in less than 10 minutes. I guess no one wants to see a cover band getting drunk on stage and acting like they are real rock stars. Go figure.

So thanks for a complete waste of a perfectly great Saturday night. You were an absolute buzzkill... and I wasn't even drinking.

Love,
The girl who now knows why Buckhead charged a cover on Saturday night. So their bar wouldn't completely empty out when the patrons realized what a tool you were.

making the connection

From an article entitled "What About Grass Fed Beef?" on The Food Revolution:

"The cruelties of modern factory farming are so severe that you don't have to be a vegetarian or an animal rights activist to find the conditions to be intolerable, and a violation of the human-animal bond."

"Confronting the brutal realities of modern slaughterhouses can be a harsh reminder that those who contemplate only the pastoral image of cattle patiently foraging do not see the whole picture."