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Thanksgiving: What's it really all about? [BAD HISTORY]
Thursday 26th November 2015 | Teresa
For our American friends across the pond, today is a day to show thanks for all the blessings in their life. Although some people see it as an excuse to eat twice their weight in turkey drenched in gravy, so that they end up looking like all the mashed potato they consumed, the actual point of Thanksgiving is to give thanks. Somehow in the creation of this holiday, the genocide of Native Americans got lost in between the stuffing and pumpkin pie.
Who: Living under an intolerant English government, the Pilgrims sought an escape from religious persecution, and organised the set up of a colony in the recently discovered Americas. The colony of Plymouth was established in 1620 and became the second successful colony in America. So what does all of this have to do with thanks?
What: Days of fasts and days of thanksgiving for blessings from God were common during the Protestant Reformation, and the Pilgrims brought this tradition over to America. This celebration of thanksgiving was notable because it came after one of the first good harvests in the new land, after the natives of the land taught them how to harvest the land. Somewhere along the way, this turned into something like the modern American tradition we have today and the third Thursday of November was deemed Thanksgiving.
The Bad History
The only problem with this story is that it doesn’t look beyond the supposedly peaceful co-existence of the new white settlers on the land of the Native Americans.
Who: The Native Americans graciously opened their land to the settlers, and also taught them the ways of the land. This, however, made it easy for the white settlers to completely obliterate them.
What: More settlers came over and pushed these kind Americans off their own land. They also brought with them diseases like Smallpox, which the Native Americans had no immunity to or method of treatment. The taking of the land also led to mass bloodshed and enslavement of the Native Americans. This was a total manifestation of white supremacist sentiments. The wave of settlers saw the Native Americans not as simple, but as inferior, and justified this ethnic cleansing and taking of land.
American textbooks often leave out this side of things, and lead many Americans to live out Thanksgiving as a blissful day of ignorance. While the premise of the day - giving thanks - is wonderful, something we should do everyday to realise the joys of living, the history of the day is tragic and too frequently overlooked.
Why it's Relevant Today
We can learn something from the kindness of the Native Americans. They openly welcomed and helped out these people in need - these people escaping persecution from their government for beliefs they hold. Doesn’t this sort of parallel the current refugee crisis? I’m not suggesting that the refugees will push us off our land, much like the white settlers, that was entirely motivated by white supremacy and the domination of an ‘inferior’ peoples. I’m suggesting that like the Native Americans, we could show some love and humanity for our struggling brethren. After all, just like the Pilgrims, they’re showing up by boat at our doorstep asking for a better chance at life.
Like other Americans out there, I’m not one to pass up a Thanksgiving feast with the ones I love, but please, on this holiday remain aware of the history of the day and not just all the food piled up on your plate.
