A National "Day of Mourning?"

Recently I became aware that some of our Native Americans consider Thanksgiving to be a “Day of Mourning.” I did some research and found this article by Terri J. Andrews. It is written from a Native American point-of–view. If you know your history at all, I’m sure you realize that everything written about Native Americans usually came from the white man’s perspective and was slanted towards their beliefs and supposed “rights.”  It’s possible, because the Native American traditions and beliefs were passed down orally, that they never had a chance for the truth to be told. Whatever you believe to be the truth, I bring you Andrews’ perspective, from a Native American point-of-view. Look for the companion piece, “The Real Plymouth Plantation.” I will paraphrase his work on the subject.

 Andrews believes that Thanksgiving is a prime example of censorship and the rewriting of the truth. The traditional American Thanksgiving shows Native Americans and Puritans coming together to feast after a long, sorry winter in which the Pilgrims lost approximately half their number. The rest of the story is deeper than that; he says…”so much deeper that the Native American Indian community calls this day—The National Day of Mourning—and stages rallies to protest the holiday.”

Here are some facts and myths, according to Andrews, related to the Plymouth Rock story of 1620.

Facts:

1.    Yes, the “Pilgrims” did come to America in 1620.

2.    Yes they were inept to care for themselves due to the harshness of the winter and their lack of stored food and supplies.

3.    Yes, they did have a “feast.”

Myth:

1.   They were not met by “friendly” Indians who welcomed their arrival from the banks. The Native people didn’t trust whites because of previous bad experiences with white fishermen, however, they took pity on the settlers, but only a few Native Americans were actually “friendly” towards the newcomers.

2.    The Natives didn’t help the Puritans out of friendship. Rather it was their custom in their culture and religion to help those in need.

3.    The actual “feast” to celebrate the harvest was not the real reason the two groups came together. Rather they met to discuss land rights.

4.   It was NOT the first Thanksgiving. An Autumnal harvest and banquet were a tradition of the Native people—a celebration that was part of their culture for centuries before the white man came.

The Real Story of the “first” Thanksgiving

Andrews goes on to relate what really happened on that “first” Thanksgiving from a Native American point-of-view.

In December of 1620, a splinter group of England’s Puritan movement landed on American soil and Plymouth Rock. They were originally headed for New York’s Hudson River, but a storm diverted them to the barren shores of New England.

They arrived too late to produce an adequate food supply. As a result, they lost about half their number that first winter.

When they arrived they encountered the Wampanoag Indians who outnumbered the white settlers. On March 16, 1621, a Native American named Samoset met the Englishmen for the first time. Samoset, and his friend, Squanto, a Patuxet, spoke English and served as interpreters for Chief Massasoit. He and his people were dressed as fierce warriors.

Chief Massasoit with the Pilgrims

Squanto

The Wampanoag already had a long history with white men. For 100 years they had bad encounters with Europeans and fishermen, who raided their communities and stole their people to be sold into slavery in Europe. Therefore Massasoit and his warriors didn’t trust this new crop of white men.

Samoset meets the English.

Squanto was an exception because he had lived with the British, after being captured, and he had a deep fondness for Europeans, especially the explorer, John Weymouth, who treated Squanto as his son.

Chief Massasoit arrived with 60 of his warriors plus Squanto, who acted as mediator. Squanto was successful at making a peaceful agreement, however there was a great deal of friction between the natives and the colonists because the Englishmen looked upon the natives as “instruments of the devil.” They only trusted Squanto because he had been baptized as a Christian.

Squanto is the reason the colonists survived as he taught them how to hunt, fish, and cultivate their own crops. He educated them on natural medicines and living off the land. The Pilgrims look on him as “an instrument of God.”

A further treaty was negotiated several months later allowing the Pilgrims to establish and build “Plymouth Colony” (see picture in the Plymouth Plantation story which will appear later today or during this week).

The end of this story, says Andrews, unfortunately ended on a sad note. The Pilgrims, once few in number, grew to a population of over 40,000. The Native Americans weakened to less than 3,000. Tension grew as the Wampanoags called in reinforcements from surrounding tribes.

Chief Metacomet "King Philip"

Metacomet, heir and son of Chief Massasoit, became chief of the Wampanoag Nation. The English referred to him as “King Phillip. The Wampanoags, under Metacomet, started a war because of the unjust treatment of three innocent Wampanoags accused of killing an Englishman. In actuality, the death was due to an accidental fall into a frozen pond.

“King Phillips” War was the result. The war didn’t end well for the Native Americans. Metacomet moved many of his people to New York. His own wife and 9-year-old daughter were sold into slavery. He returned to his own homeland and was killed. The rest of the Wampanoags were either killed or deported as slaves for 30 shillings each. The slave trade was so successful that the Puritan ship owners began a slave-trading business by raiding the coast for Native American Indians and trading them for black slaves of Africa to be sold to colonist in the south. Hence, the Pilgrims were one of the founders of the American-based slave trading industry.

Thanksgiving Today

For many Native Americans today, the traditional “Thanksgiving” holiday is not recognized as the story found in American history books and handed down to each generation. They see the day as a day of sorrow and shame. They feel sorrow for those fallen in the past and shame to live in a country who honors people who used religion and self-righteousness to condone murder, treachery and slavery.

Native Americans in many communities use the day to reflect on what happened; to pray to the Creator that more people will know the truth and show respect towards the fallen culture; to fast; to protest the commercialization of Thanksgiving; to volunteer in soup kitchens and shelters; and some take part in a family meal honoring the spirit of Chief Massasoit.

Andrews concludes: “The Native people died so that the colony could flourish. They need to be remembered, respected and mourned. With them – the Native forefathers – is a much better place to lay your fondness and your thanks.

I do not know how our own “coastal” Native Americans were treated as Maine became more occupied with the white man. I endeavored to track our Native Americans in the area and was overwhelmed by all the subgroups of tribes, nations, and confederations. Sorting all that out would take a scholar much better than I. I would be afraid of contributing to the “untruths” as Andrews sees them. Our Maine fictional historian, Kenneth Roberts, did speak of Maine’s Native Americans in his book, Arundel. If I can come up with a bibliography of Maine’s Native American history, for you at a later date, I will give it to you.

I sincerely hope you will pause in your Thanksgiving blessings around your festival table, to pray for our Native Americans, some of whom still struggle today. (No, not all of them own or run casinos.)

Thanks for listening.