Welcome

Website counter
website hit counter
website hit counters

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving: A National Day of Mourning for Indians

Thanksgiving: A National Day of Mourning for Indians
Posted on 24 November 2011 by Enaemaehkiw Túpac Keshena
If you're new here, you may want to keep up with People Of Color Organize! via RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and podcasts. Thanks for visiting!
By Moonanum James and Mahtowin Munro. Mahtowin Munro (Lakota) and Moonanum James (Wampanoag) are co-leaders of United American Indians of New 
England.
Every year since 1970, United American 
Indians of New England have organized the National Day of Mourning 
observance in Plymouth at noon on Thanksgiving Day. Every year, hundreds of Native people and our supporters from all four directions join us. 
Every year, including this year, Native people from throughout the 
Americas will speak the truth about our history and about current issues and struggles we are involved in.
Why do hundreds of people stand out in 
the cold rather than sit home eating turkey and watching football? Do we have something against a harvest festival?
Of course not. But Thanksgiving in this 
country — and in particular in Plymouth –is much more than a harvest 
home festival. It is a celebration of the pilgrim mythology.
According to this mythology, the 
pilgrims arrived, the Native people fed them and welcomed them, the 
Indians promptly faded into the background, and everyone lived happily 
ever after.
The truth is a sharp contrast to that mythology.
The pilgrims are glorified and 
mythologized because the circumstances of the first English-speaking 
colony in Jamestown were frankly too ugly (for example, they turned to 
cannibalism to survive) to hold up as an effective national myth. The 
pilgrims did not find an empty land any more than Columbus "discovered" 
anything. Every inch of this land is Indian land. The pilgrims (who did 
not even call themselves pilgrims) did not come here seeking religious 
freedom; they already had that in Holland. They came here as part of a 
commercial venture. They introduced sexism, racism, anti-lesbian and gay bigotry, jails, and the class system to these shores. One of the very 
first things they did when they arrived on Cape Cod — before they even 
made it to Plymouth — was to rob Wampanoag graves at Corn Hill and steal as much of the Indians' winter provisions of corn and beans as they 
were able to carry. They were no better than any other group of 
Europeans when it came to their treatment of the Indigenous peoples 
here. And no, they did not even land at that sacred shrine called 
Plymouth Rock, a monument to racism and oppression which we are proud to say we buried in 1995.
The first official "Day of Thanksgiving" was proclaimed in 1637 by Governor Winthrop. He did so to celebrate the safe return of men from the Massachusetts Bay Colony who had gone to 
Mystic, Connecticut to participate in the massacre of over 700 Pequot 
women, children, and men.
About the only true thing in the whole 
mythology is that these pitiful European strangers would not have 
survived their first several years in "New England" were it not for the 
aid of Wampanoag people. What Native people got in return for this help 
was genocide, theft of our lands, and never-ending repression. We are 
treated either as quaint relics from the past, or are, to most people, 
virtually invisible.
When we dare to stand up for our rights, we are considered unreasonable. When we speak the truth about the 
history of the European invasion, we are often told to "go back where we came from." Our roots are right here. They do not extend across any 
ocean.
National Day of Mourning began in 1970 
when a Wampanoag man, Wamsutta Frank James, was asked to speak at a 
state dinner celebrating the 350th anniversary of the pilgrim landing. 
He refused to speak false words in praise of the white man for bringing 
civilization to us poor heathens. Native people from throughout the 
Americas came to Plymouth, where they mourned their forebears who had 
been sold into slavery, burned alive, massacred, cheated, and mistreated since the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620.
But the commemoration of National Day of Mourning goes far beyond the circumstances of 1970.
Can we give thanks as we remember Native political prisoner Leonard Peltier, who was framed up by the FBI and 
has been falsely imprisoned since 1976? Despite mountains of evidence 
exonerating Peltier and the proven misconduct of federal prosecutors and the FBI, Peltier has been denied a new trial. Bill Clinton apparently 
does not feel that particular pain and has refused to grant clemency to 
this innocent man.
To Native people, the case of Peltier is one more ordeal in a litany of wrongdoings committed by the U.S. 
government against us. While the media in New England present images of 
the "Pequot miracle" in Connecticut, the vast majority of Native people 
continue to live in the most abysmal poverty.
Can we give thanks for the fact that, on many reservations, unemployment rates surpass fifty percent? Our life 
expectancies are much lower, our infant mortality and teen suicide rates much higher, than those of white Americans. Racist stereotypes of 
Native people, such as those perpetuated by the Cleveland Indians, the 
Atlanta Braves, and countless local and national sports teams, persist. 
Every single one of the more than 350 treaties that Native nations 
signed has been broken by the U.S. government. The bipartisan budget 
cuts have severely reduced educational opportunities for Native youth 
and the development of new housing on reservations, and have caused 
cause deadly cutbacks in health-care and other necessary services.
Are we to give thanks for being treated as unwelcome in our own country?
Or perhaps we are expected to give 
thanks for the war that is being waged by the Mexican government against Indigenous peoples there, with the military aid of the U.S. in the form of helicopters and other equipment? When the descendants of the Aztec, 
Maya, and Inca flee to the U.S., the descendants of the wash-ashore 
pilgrims term them 'illegal aliens" and hunt them down.
We object to the "Pilgrim Progress" 
parade and to what goes on in Plymouth because they are making millions 
of tourist dollars every year from the false pilgrim mythology. That 
money is being made off the backs of our slaughtered indigenous 
ancestors.
Increasing numbers of people are seeking alternatives to such holidays as Columbus Day and Thanksgiving. They 
are coming to the conclusion that, if we are ever to achieve some sense 
of community, we must first face the truth about the history of this 
country and the toll that history has taken on the lives of millions of 
Indigenous, Black, Latino, Asian, and poor and working class white 
people.
The myth of Thanksgiving, served up with dollops of European superiority and manifest destiny, just does not 
work for many people in this country. As Malcolm X once said about the 
African-American experience in America, "We did not land on Plymouth 
Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us." Exactly.

http://www.peopleofcolororganize.com/category/indigenous-struggles/

No comments:

मैं नास्तिक क्यों हूं# Necessity of Atheism#!Genetics Bharat Teertha

হে মোর চিত্ত, Prey for Humanity!

मनुस्मृति नस्ली राजकाज राजनीति में OBC Trump Card और जयभीम कामरेड

Gorkhaland again?আত্মঘাতী বাঙালি আবার বিভাজন বিপর্যয়ের মুখোমুখি!

हिंदुत्व की राजनीति का मुकाबला हिंदुत्व की राजनीति से नहीं किया जा सकता।

In conversation with Palash Biswas

Palash Biswas On Unique Identity No1.mpg

Save the Universities!

RSS might replace Gandhi with Ambedkar on currency notes!

जैसे जर्मनी में सिर्फ हिटलर को बोलने की आजादी थी,आज सिर्फ मंकी बातों की आजादी है।

#BEEFGATEঅন্ধকার বৃত্তান্তঃ হত্যার রাজনীতি

अलविदा पत्रकारिता,अब कोई प्रतिक्रिया नहीं! पलाश विश्वास

ভালোবাসার মুখ,প্রতিবাদের মুখ মন্দাক্রান্তার পাশে আছি,যে মেয়েটি আজও লিখতে পারছেঃ আমাক ধর্ষণ করবে?

Palash Biswas on BAMCEF UNIFICATION!

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS ON NEPALI SENTIMENT, GORKHALAND, KUMAON AND GARHWAL ETC.and BAMCEF UNIFICATION! Published on Mar 19, 2013 The Himalayan Voice Cambridge, Massachusetts United States of America

BAMCEF UNIFICATION CONFERENCE 7

Published on 10 Mar 2013 ALL INDIA BAMCEF UNIFICATION CONFERENCE HELD AT Dr.B. R. AMBEDKAR BHAVAN,DADAR,MUMBAI ON 2ND AND 3RD MARCH 2013. Mr.PALASH BISWAS (JOURNALIST -KOLKATA) DELIVERING HER SPEECH. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLL-n6MrcoM http://youtu.be/oLL-n6MrcoM

Imminent Massive earthquake in the Himalayas

Palash Biswas on Citizenship Amendment Act

Mr. PALASH BISWAS DELIVERING SPEECH AT BAMCEF PROGRAM AT NAGPUR ON 17 & 18 SEPTEMBER 2003 Sub:- CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT 2003 http://youtu.be/zGDfsLzxTXo

Tweet Please

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS BLASTS INDIANS THAT CLAIM BUDDHA WAS BORN IN INDIA

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: INDIAN GOVERNMENT FOOD SECURITY PROGRAM RISKIER

http://youtu.be/NrcmNEjaN8c The government of India has announced food security program ahead of elections in 2014. We discussed the issue with Palash Biswas in Kolkata today. http://youtu.be/NrcmNEjaN8c Ahead of Elections, India's Cabinet Approves Food Security Program ______________________________________________________ By JIM YARDLEY http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/indias-cabinet-passes-food-security-law/

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS TALKS AGAINST CASTEIST HEGEMONY IN SOUTH ASIA

THE HIMALAYAN VOICE: PALASH BISWAS DISCUSSES RAM MANDIR

Published on 10 Apr 2013 Palash Biswas spoke to us from Kolkota and shared his views on Visho Hindu Parashid's programme from tomorrow ( April 11, 2013) to build Ram Mandir in disputed Ayodhya. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77cZuBunAGk

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS LASHES OUT KATHMANDU INT'L 'MULVASI' CONFERENCE

अहिले भर्खर कोलकता भारतमा हामीले पलाश विश्वाससंग काठमाडौँमा आज भै रहेको अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय मूलवासी सम्मेलनको बारेमा कुराकानी गर्यौ । उहाले भन्नु भयो सो सम्मेलन 'नेपालको आदिवासी जनजातिहरुको आन्दोलनलाई कम्जोर बनाउने षडयन्त्र हो।' http://youtu.be/j8GXlmSBbbk

THE HIMALAYAN DISASTER: TRANSNATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT MECHANISM A MUST

We talked with Palash Biswas, an editor for Indian Express in Kolkata today also. He urged that there must a transnational disaster management mechanism to avert such scale disaster in the Himalayas. http://youtu.be/7IzWUpRECJM

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS CRITICAL OF BAMCEF LEADERSHIP

[Palash Biswas, one of the BAMCEF leaders and editors for Indian Express spoke to us from Kolkata today and criticized BAMCEF leadership in New Delhi, which according to him, is messing up with Nepalese indigenous peoples also. He also flayed MP Jay Narayan Prasad Nishad, who recently offered a Puja in his New Delhi home for Narendra Modi's victory in 2014.]

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS CRITICIZES GOVT FOR WORLD`S BIGGEST BLACK OUT

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS CRITICIZES GOVT FOR WORLD`S BIGGEST BLACK OUT

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALSH BISWAS FLAYS SOUTH ASIAN GOVERNM

Palash Biswas, lashed out those 1% people in the government in New Delhi for failure of delivery and creating hosts of problems everywhere in South Asia. http://youtu.be/lD2_V7CB2Is

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS LASHES OUT KATHMANDU INT'L 'MULVASI' CONFERENCE

अहिले भर्खर कोलकता भारतमा हामीले पलाश विश्वाससंग काठमाडौँमा आज भै रहेको अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय मूलवासी सम्मेलनको बारेमा कुराकानी गर्यौ । उहाले भन्नु भयो सो सम्मेलन 'नेपालको आदिवासी जनजातिहरुको आन्दोलनलाई कम्जोर बनाउने षडयन्त्र हो।' http://youtu.be/j8GXlmSBbbk