often the study of history is like pulling on a thread: some detail catches your attention and leads to something else, another detail. a narrative slowly unraveling, slowly revealing something behind it, something hidden or forgotten. - errol morris
pulling on a thread . . . when we were still living in minnesota, ben worked with a many who had a large forearm tattoo. a tattoo of 38 hanging men. of course ben asked him about it. and he told ben some minnesota history that neither of us had ever heard before. he told ben about the hanging at mankato in 1862. when ben told me about this piece of history, he and i did some research and later watched a documentary of a memorial ride from lower brule, south dakota, to manakto, minnesota. this was a detail that caught my attention. and over the years, this narrative is slowly unraveling for me. i choose to continue to pull gently on the thread, to examine parts of this story.
last fall, i did an exercise in which i researched answers to these questions {what native american tribes historically lived in montana? what tribe's historical homeland do i live on? how many native nations are in the united states? what are reservations and why do they exist? name 10 living native american celebrities, acitivists, and/or political leaders.} this was very eye-opening and i recommend that you think about doing this same exercise.
also last fall a friend had posted this link {decolonizing thanksgiving} on her facebook - through which i found this article {deconstructing the myths of the "first thanksgiving"}. ever the unraveling thread.
a few of the myths that particularly struck me:
myth #1: "the first thanksgiving" occurred in 1621. fact: no one knows when the "first" thanksgiving occurred. people have been giving thanks for as long as people have existed. indigenous nations all over the world have celebrations of the harvest that come from very old traditions; for native peoples, thanksgiving comes not once a year, but every day, for all the gifts of life.
myth #3: the colonists came seeking freedom of religion in a new land. fact: the colonists were not just innocent refugees from religious persecution. by 1620, hundreds of native people had already been to england and back, most as captives; so the plymouth colonists knew full well that the land they were settling on was inhabited. nevertheless, their belief system taught them that any land that was "unimproved" was "wild" and theirs for the taking; that the people who lived there were roving heathens with no right to the land. both the separatists and puritans were rigid fundamentalists who came here fully intending to take the land away from its native inhabitants and establish a new nation, their "holy kingdom." the plymouth colonists were never concerned with "freedom of religion" for anyone but themselves.
myth #10: the pilgrims and indians became great friends. fact: a mere generation later, the balance of power had shifted so enormously and the theft of land by the european settlers had become so egregious that the wampanoag were forced into battle. In 1637, english soldiers massacred some 700 pequot men, women and children at mystic fort, burning many of them alive in their homes and shooting those who fled. the colony of connecticut and massachusetts bay colony observed a day of thanksgiving commemorating the massacre. by 1675, there were some 50,000 colonists in the place they had named "new england." that year, metacom, a son of massasoit, one of the first whose generosity had saved the lives of the starving settlers, led a rebellion against them. by the end of the conflict known as "king philip's war," most of the indian peoples of the northeast region had been either completely wiped out, sold into slavery, or had fled for safety into canada. shortly after metacom's death, plymouth colony declared a day of thanksgiving for the english victory over the indians.
i am not anti-thanksgiving. i am all for a day that reminds people to focus on the good, to get together with the people they love, to list gratitudes, to focus on thankfulness. but, if we are going to talk about the history of thanksgiving as a holiday, let's tell it truthfully.
beginning with george washington, some presidents called for a day of thanksgiving to be observed, some did not. in 1863, then-president abraham lincoln proclaimed that the fourth thursday in november would be set side as a day of thanksgiving and praise. and so we have our holiday.
as for me, i'll probably read the article about thanksgiving myths to my kids and husband and see what conversation that sparks. and, this fourth thursday in november, i'll be with some family and some dear friends, laughing, counting gratitudes, catching up, playing games, and probably eating too much of a variety of food (especially pie).
and my wish for you? that you, too, find threads of history that catch your attention, that you carefully pull the thread and learn from the unraveling, that you are not content with the stories you have been taught, but that you set out to uncover and learn and pass on truth.
go gently, love fiercely, and be wonderful.
love, e
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of further interest :
indigenous women have been disappearing