The History Behind Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving day is an annual national holiday in the United States and Canada celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. Americans generally believe that their thanksgiving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast, shared by English Colonists aka pilgrims of Plymouth, and the Wampanoag People. So many Native Americans do not celebrate Thanksgiving aka “the arrival of pilgrims” and other European settlers. To them Thanksgiving is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands and the relentless assault on their cultures.
I agree.
On September 28th 1789 just before leaving for recess, the first federal congress passed a resolution, asking that the president of the United States recommend to the nation, a day of thanksgiving. So in the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln - prompted by a series of editorials - proclaimed a national thanksgiving day to be celebrated on the 26th of November (or the final Thursday of November). So, while some Native Americans choose to reject Thanksgiving, many do embrace the positive messages of the holiday. This is because the idea of giving thanks is central to native heritage and culture. So this way, thanksgiving represents a chance to appreciate the good things of life like family, community and the riches of the land. Remember, long before settlers arrived, native tribes were celebrating the autumn harvest and the gift of mother nature's abundance.
Native American spirituality, both traditionally and today, emphasizes gratitude for creation, care for the environment and the recognition of the human need for communication with nature and others.
My grandmother's grandmother was a South American native of the Amazon rainforest. There are many different tribes in the amazon and it's not clear which tribe she’s specifically from. So, I take the concept of thanksgiving very seriously. So please, if you do celebrate thanksgiving, be sure to truly understand the history behind thanksgiving. I want you to remember that the first official mention of a thanksgiving celebration occurred in 1637, after the colonists brutally massacred an entire village and subsequently celebrated their barbaric victory.