11/14/24 - Should We STILL Celebrate Thanksgiving Day?
Hook
Are you someone like me who has wondered if we should still celebrate Thanksgiving Day and how best to do that if the answer is yes? If so, come along and let’s explore.
Introduction
Hello my lovelies! Welcome to the Moving Toward Better Podcast. I’m your host, Karen Bemmes, and today we’re talking about whether we should still celebrate Thanksgiving Day, and if so, how to do that respectfully. I know this one could get a bit spicy, but if you know me, you know I’ll approach this with the utmost respect and share what I’ve learned in my research.
Before we dive in, I want to make it clear that what I am about to share are experiences from my own life and what I learned along the way. Your situation may be different, and this is no substitute for financial, medical or mental health intervention if your situation warrants it. This podcast series is designed to help people understand themselves and others better. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any mental or physical condition. If you suspect you or a family member is at risk of physical or mental harm, please seek proper medical help immediately.
For those who are new to the podcast, when I talk about personalities, communication and relationships, I use the DISC personality model of behavior and refer to people as D or Driven, I or Inspired, S or Supportive, and C or Cautious. You can find links to take your own Personality Assessment in the Show Notes.
Presentation of Problem/Challenge
Hook - 15s
Think the Pilgrims and Native Americans had the 1st Thanksgiving? Then think again. I went down the rabbit hole of the history of American Thanksgiving, and I’m here to tell you that I learned so much, and I’m going to share it with you, so buckle in because this is very interesting stuff.
Introduction - 15s
I know going into this that it could go sideways, but my intention is not to malign Thanksgiving or those who celebrate it. Simply put, I’m not here to tell you to stop celebrating Thanksgiving.
If you’re white, like me, I’m not here to shame you for what others with our skin color did in the years after what we talk about as the first Thanksgiving (more on that in a minute), again, not in judgment but as a matter of fact.
If you’re native, I’m not here to minimize what happened after the event most white people in America call the first Thanksgiving, and I hope I do right by what I found to share.
Presentation of Problem/Challenge - 1m
We, meaning people who attended public school in middle America, were taught pretty much the same story, that the original settlers, immigrants, colonizers or Puritans suffered greatly over the first year they lived in Plymouth in 1620. Many died and if not for the natives, the Wampanoag, they probably would have all perished.
But thanks to the natives, in 1621, there was a harvest and the Immigrants invited the natives to celebrate that harvest, which ended up being a 3 day Thanksgiving feast. That’s what I and several million other school children were taught was the first Thanksgiving, but it wasn’t, not by a long shot.
So what did I find? I found that, as usual with American history, things are more complex than we were taught as children, because, duh, we were children, but for some reason, the history and significance of that first Thanksgiving is elevated to a place that I’m not sure it belongs.
Exploration/Development - 1m
Why do I say that? For several reasons. In researching the first Thanksgiving from a native perspective, I found out that for over a hundred years before the thanksgiving with the white settlers that we learned about in school, that native peoples had been interacting with white traders. Essentially since 1492, the natives had interacted with traders, fishermen and explorers, so the white people that landed at Plymouth Rock were not the Ogs, even for the natives from the Virginia area.
They may have been the first to bring families, but they were not as unique as we have been led to believe. Also, fun fact, the term Puritan, which I learned was merely a term to denote the people who landed at Plymouth Rock, is actually a pejorative term that characterized certain protestant sects of Christianity as religious extremists. Certainly sheds a different light on what I was taught about the people who settled our country. How about you?
This is something I found fascinating. According to native sources the thanksgiving in question from the Wapanoag perspective is that interacting with the white settlers was in the spirit of diplomacy and political alliances that were not honored by the whites later rather than a friendly gathering of thanksgiving. Again, a very different view than what I was taught.
Now, I know that I wasn’t there, and I don’t know what actually happened, and that’s absolutely true, but then I found out that for thousands of years before and ever since, the native people of this land have celebrated many thanksgivings throughout the harvest season, starting with the early harvest of foods like raspberries to the last harvest of the season, which is usually cranberries.
The celebration of a harvest thanksgiving also happened in rural communities across Europe, so it’s likely that the immigrants had attended such harvest events in their native village of Scrooby as well.
At this point, you might be wondering where I got all of this information, so I’ve included important links for this episode in the notes and description, including how the modern Wapanoag celebrate the traditional cranberry harvest festival mentioned above even today.
I’ve also included a link to the Thanksgiving address of the Haudenosaunee (hoe-de-na-show-nee), and I hope I’m not butchering that because I watched a video on how to pronounce it, and I apologize in advance if I’ve messed it up.
It is a thanksgiving address to the natural world and is read at many events to acknowledge the people, the earth and all of its inhabitants, as well as the sun, the moon, the stars and the creator. It seems more poignant now than perhaps it has ever been.
Thanksgiving is part of the native culture, and not only for one day out of the year. We have Abraham Lincoln to thank for a single day of thanksgiving in this country, and guess what? He never even mentioned the first thanksgiving when he made it a national holiday.
On October 3, 1863, when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the 4th Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise in the midst of one of the most devastating civil wars in known history, neither a pilgrim or native is mentioned. Instead, he focused on how to see the blessings in the midst of our internal, national strife. I told you this episode would be interesting. By the way, the link for the Lincoln address is also in the notes and description.
Climax/Key Moment - 1m
But perhaps the most interesting information I found was when I looked for information about how natives now feel about how we celebrate thanksgiving today, and I have to say I was intrigued by what I found.
Essentially, like every other society and group, at least in this country, there is not total agreement. Some tribes and people couldn’t care less about what white people do that one day each year. Others find it disrespectful, and still others use it as a day of mourning for what happened to the native population following that first thanksgiving. Interestingly, many still gather to honor those who perished and to also spend time with family in gratitude for those who survived and to deepen the bonds with current family and their community.
A couple of observations really stood out to me when I looked on reddit and read what actual natives had to say. One said that his family used the day to share the history of their family, their tribe and to celebrate everyone in attendance. Another said that boycotting the day is bs without actions to back up the boycott. In essence, if you really want to help indigenous people, do something that actually helps natives, like supporting their businesses rather than doing something like boycotting a holiday that only makes you feel good. Wise words I would say. Others treat it as a regular day and don’t acknowledge it any differently than any other Thursday of the year.
Conclusion/Summary - 15s
So where does that leave us? In a bit of a conundrum, I think. As for me, I’ll still celebrate being thankful for all I have, and I’ll do my best to help out those in groups who are typically forgotten, abused and maligned.
And before anyone comments, I am the whitest of white people who can equally celebrate the accomplishments of my ancestors and acknowledge their failings as well. I feel no guilt for what the founders of this nation, before and after the revolution did because I didn’t participate. I do, however, think we need to know about and understand what terrible things happened in our own history so that our children understand the attempted genocide of our native population, the bigotry of the Tulsa Massacre, the abuse of suffragettes and how to make this nation greater than its ever been, not through some political leader but through connecting with those who look and believe differently than you. Then you’re able to see history through a different lens and can make the future brighter for us all.
Climax/Key Moment, Conclusion/Summary, Call to Action
As a child I learned the term “the American melting pot” and that it is our diversity that makes us a better, stronger nation. I still believe that to be true, but only when we meet and get to know those who are swimming in this melting pot with us, so I challenge you to go somewhere that you can do that. If you’re new to this, try ethnically owned restaurants, including those owned by the native population in your area. Shop in stores with goods from around the world and try something new.
Watch videos from other countries with people doing things you like to do from cooking to working on cars to sewing. You may not understand everything that’s said, but you might learn something and come away from it enriched, and for people who are from those marginalized communities, I know this is a miniscule baby step, but it is a step, and I’ll keep encouraging more of them.
For those of you who are white, put aside your fear and take that baby step. You will be a better person for it.
So, did you get any insights from this for yourself or someone you know? If you got your own insight, be sure to like and subscribe, and if you know someone else who could benefit from this, please share it with them.
As for me, I’m taking a two week break on the podcast this month and another two week break in December. This is the last podcast until December 5th, so for those who listen every week, I’ll chat again with you soon.
Until next time, keep moving toward better, whatever that means for you. Happy thanksgiving! Love you all!
