MORE ON THANKSGIVING (but no more until next year, I promise!)
[Nyerges is the author of “How to
Survive Anywhere,” “Foraging California,” “Enter the Forest” and other
books. He leads courses in the native
uses of plants. He can be reached at
Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041, or www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance..com]
I met a man who began to
discuss with me my Thanksgiving column, about the
historical origins of Thanksgiving, and what happened, and what didn’t happen.
“I was a little puzzled
after I read it,” Burt told me. “I
wanted to know more. I understand that
the first historical Thanksgiving may have not happened the way we are told as
children,” he told me, “but how did we get to where we are today? What I understood from your column was that
there are historical roots, and that we today remember those roots and try to
be very thankful, but the connection was unclear.” Burt and I then had a very long conversation.
A newspaper column is
typically not long enough to provide the “big picture” of the entire foundation of such a
commemoration, as well as all the twists and turns that have occurred along the
way. But here is the condensed version of what I told my new friend Burt.
First, try reading any of
the many books that are available that describe the first so-called “first
Thanksgiving” at the Plymouth colony that at least attempts to also show the
Indigenous perspective. You will
quickly see that this was not simply the European pilgrims and the native people
sitting down to a great meal and giving thanks to their respective Gods, though
that probably did occur. In fact, the
indigenous peoples and the newcomers had thanksgiving days on a pretty regular
basis.
As you take the time to
explore the motives of the many key players of our so-called “first
Thanksgiving,” in the context of that time, you will see that though the
Europeans were now increasingly flowing into the eastern seaboard, their
long-term presence had not been allowed – until this point. Massasoit was the
political-military leader of the Wampanoag confederation, which was the
stronger native group in the area.
However, after disease had wiped out many of the native people,
Massasoit was worried about the neighboring long-time enemies – the
Narragansett -- to the west. The gathering of the European leaders of the
Plimouth Colony and Massasoit and entourage had been more-or-less brokered by
Tisquantum (aka Squanto) who spoke English.
Yes, there had been much
interaction between the new colonists and native people for some time, and this
gathering of 3 days in 1621 was intended to seal the deal between the colonists
aligning with Massasoit. The exact date
is unknown, but it was sometime between September 21 and November 9.
Yes, historians say that a
grand meal followed, including mostly meat.
The colony remained and there was relative peace for the next 10 to 50
years, depending on which historians were correct in their reading of the
meager notes. The historical record
indicates that the new colonists learned how to hunt, forage, practice
medicince, make canoes and moccasins, and much more, from the indigenous
people. Even Tisquantum taught the colonists how to farm using fish scraps, ironically,
a bit of farming detail he picked up during his few years in Europe.
Politicians and religious
leaders continued to practice the giving of thanks, in their churches and in
their communities, and that is a good thing. They would hearken back to what
gradually became known as the “first Thanksgiving” in order to give thanks for
all the bounty they found and created in this new world, always giving thanks
to God! But clearly, the indigenous
people would have a very different view of the consequences of this 1621 pact,
which gradually and inevitably meant the loss of their lands and further
decimation of their peoples from disease.
Of course, there was not yet a “United States of America,” and it was
with a bit of nostalgia and selective memory that we refer to this semi-obscure
gathering of two peoples as some sort of foundational event in the development
of the United States. And it is understandable from the perspective of a
national mythology that the native people were forgotten and the “gifts from
God” remembered.
My new friend Burt was
nodding his head, beginning to see that there was much under the surface of
this holiday. I recommended that he read such books as “1491: New Revelations
of the Americas Before Columbus” by Mann,
“Native American History: Idiot’s Guide” by Fleming, and others.
As I still believe, giving
thanks is a good thing – good for the soul and good for the society. Just be sure to always give thanks where it
is due!
Eventually, in the centuries
that followed, Thanksgiving was celebrated on various days in various
places. George Washington declared it
an official Thanksgiving in 1789.
However, the day did not become standardized as the final Thursday each
November until 1863 with a proclamation by Abraham Lincoln.
The gross commercialization
of Thanksgiving is a somewhat recent manifestation of the way in which we have
tried to extract money from just about anything. One way to break that cycle is to just choose to do something
different.
When I used to visit my
parents’ home for annual Thanksgiving gatherings, I disliked the loud arguing
and banter, the loud TV in the background, and the way everyone (including me)
ate so much that we had stomach aches!
I felt that Thanksgiving should be about something more than all
that. I changed that by simply no
longer attending, and then visiting my parents the following day with a quiet
meal. It took my parents a few years to
get used to my changes, but eventually they did.
This year, before the actual
Thanksgiving day, I enjoyed a home-made meal with neighbors and friends. Before
we sat down to eat, everyone stated the things they are thankful-for before the
meal. Nearly everyone cited “friends and family,” among other things. It was quiet, intimate, and the way that I
have long felt this day should be observed.
Yes, like most holidays we have a whole host of diverse symbols, and
Thanksgiving is no different. And like
most modern holidays, their real meanings are now nearly-hopelessly obscured by the massive commercialism. Nevertheless, despite the tide that is
against us, we can always choose to do something different.
Holidays are our holy days where we ought to
take the time to reflect upon the deeper meanings. By so doing, we are not necessarily “saving” the holiday, but we
are saving ourselves. As we work to
discover the original history and meanings of each holiday, we wake up our
minds and discover a neglected world hidden in plain sight.
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