(Credit: CC-BY-NC-SA by Hutson Hayward)
Last night we inadvertently caught about 5 minutes of the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving episode, just enough to hear Linus declare: “… We thank God for the opportunity to create the New World for freedom and justice.” Irony much? What an extraordinarily white perspective that does not align with reality. Freedom and Justice for whom?
I often wonder: as North Americans, do we collectively and conveniently choose to forget the genocide of the native peoples living in North America, the use of bio-warfare? Yes, multi-generations of white folk have benefitted from the slaughtering of indigenous populations in North America, from stealing land and causing the loss of many languages and cultures. It is ironic that the early survival of the Plymouth colony depended so heavily on the agricultural and fishing advice of the Wampanoag.
The whole idea of a “first Thanksgiving” is historically murky at best, with both religious and civil harvest festivals easily traceable to the Spanish in St. Augustine and British colonies in Jamestown and Plymouth. The native populations also had histories of harvest festivals, thus rendering a colonizer’s claim of “first” another in a series of misappropriations. Regular Thanksgiving celebrations as fixed civil events became common much later, dating to the 1660s.
As with so much of early colonial American history, most of what we “remember” is filtered through centuries of creative reconstruction – bucolic paintings, myths of noble savages and honest oppressed British outcasts, grade school songs and pageants all become part of the national consciousness. It is understandable that we prefer not to dwell on our collective responsibility for the decimation of whole populations, but it is an important part of our nation’s history. The colonizers’ relationship with the native populations was complex (and occasionally grateful) but seldom benefitted the natives and almost certainly did not involve everybody sharing a lovely meal around a table in peace.
Let us not forget this was no mere land grab but a decimation of Holocaust proportions. Our mistreatment of the indigenous peoples in North America went on well into the 20th Century with the Termination Act, Allotment, and the creation of Boarding Schools where white people chanted what became an anthem: “We must kill the Indian to save the man.”
The root idea of Thanksgiving – shared by the Europeans and the indigenous peoples – as a celebration is a good one. Be thankful for what you have; celebrate the cherished loved ones in your life; take time to remember what is good and bountiful with no expectations of gain other than shared love and thanks. Let us move forward as a nation, correctly learning, remembering, and growing from our history. Let us work hard to return to this spirit of Thanksgiving. It need not be buried in any trivia: upcoming shopping orgies (conspicuous consumption), 437 sporting events, overindulgence for its own sake, or cute “historical” imagery that overlooks a complex history.
In addition to a created culture of overindulgence, sadly, I am painfully reminded of consumerism at the price of humanity. Thanksgiving seems to be inextricably tied to “Black Friday,” where people have to work on Thanksgiving and work absurd hours the Friday after so that corporations might benefit from people NOT earning a living wage.
For now, I will try and focus that we all have people and events in our lives worthy of celebration; that is what we should use today to be truly thankful for. I hope everyone will be able to spend time with cherished loved ones, be it families of origin or families and communities we create, and while we take that time to be grateful, we also look for ways we can actively create space to push against the distortion of history and of mass consumerism. How do we stand in solidarity with those that do not have the privilege of celebrating time with loved ones?
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Michael Hulshof-Schmidt teaches Social Justice at the Portland State University School of Social Work. He is the Executive Director of EqualityWorks, NW, a company that provides workshops on racial equity and how to stand in solidarity with targeted populations. You can read more of his work athttp://hulshofschmidt.wordpress.com/.
Very nice observations. We have such a tendency to sugar-coat and sentimentalize when we should be thoughtful (as well as thankful). I’ll take the time to appreciate all I have but remember those who do not.
Phil,
Yes, I hope we are able to take time to cherish those we love and are loved by and be aware that not everyone has a family to spend time with and to be the receiver of love.
Love this Michael-thank you for the reminder. Am contemplating sending this to family but scared the dinner tomorrow would turn into a heated argument 🙂 Thank you for sharing. Hope you are well.
Monica,
You have such a lovely voice for social justice. I hope your navigation of this holiday goes well.
Dear Michael –
You have such a powerful way of expressing your worldview in writing and engaging your students in your lectures! You have stood in solidarity with me today in this time of isolation from my friends and family.
I am very grateful for that!
All my best to you!
Alma
Well, this will be the second time this week that I have posted a somewhat negative reply to a Tikkun piece which expresses what is normally my default position.
Really, could this not have waited until tomorrow? Could not the following part be enough just for today?
“For now, I will try and focus that we all have people and events in our lives worthy of celebration; that is what we should use today to be truly thankful for. I hope everyone will be able to spend time with cherished loved ones, be it families of origin or families and communities we create. ”
Amen.
No, Joan, that is not enough. If we wait to remember the darker moments until we are comfortable, we lose the motivation to change.
I don’t share that guilty. My family arrived on these shores in the 20th century.
Thansksgiing sou be the new Yom Kippur
This is such an important message. This holiday has become a parody, mired in gluttony, cartoons, sporting events, the ridiculous shopping frenzies. Instead, we should take the time to be truly reflective. Celebrate what makes us thankful, yes, but remember honestly the past and find ways to put our bounty toward repairing what is still wrong in the world.
In the midst of the “New York Minute” that Thanksgiving has sadly become, your collective thoughts help to clear the air and allow us to see our society and ourselves (warts and all) in true reality. Much of what we have and who we are has come from, and because of, the mistreatment, objectification and abuse of others our ancestors “enlightened.” Thank you, Michael, for allowing us to see ourselves as we are (at least some parts of who we are), and who we can better become today, to celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving–for each and every one of us–and what this holiday should represent.
I don’t share the collectve guilt serving as my family arrived on these shores in the 20th century. They fled the Ukraine where the rest of the family fell victim to European genocide. The people who arrived at Plymouth Rock are not my ancestors. Genocide in the Americas was a collective European project which included the British, French. Spanish and Portuguise.
William,
There is not a call here for anyone to feel guilty. There is a call to be aware of the history that evolved into what we now call Thanksgiving. Arriving to the United States in the 20th Century does not give anyone a free pass to avoid the history that creates a holiday that is part of the national consciousness.
I wonder what it would be like for people to honor your narrative of having family falling “victim to European genocide” and you to be able to honor the many lost narratives to the genocide caused by European colonizers dating back to the 17th century. Is there not space to honor both? I wonder how it would feel for you if people moving to the Ukraine now said: “I don’t have to be aware of the genocide that took place here because we moved here in the 21st century?
Michael. European colonization is not exclusively about the US and predates the 17th cenyury. 1492 is the year. The US is a collection of nations that declared independence at the expense of the natives. That includes every single nation in Latin and South America.
William — it is curious that you seem to understand the tragic history of colonization on the American continents but have so little empathy. Living in the United States in 2013 by definition takes advantage of the fruits of that colonization. (Your list is a bit incomplete as well, ignoring the Dutch and the Russians at the very least.) As Michael said, guilty feelings aren’t the answer, or the point. Understanding the myths (which DO date back to the 17th Century) and not allowing those happy images to trump reality IS the point.
I empathize but I was not part of thw experience.
Unlearn innocence. If you are here. If you have privilege. You are part of the story
It’s great to talk about History and the Past, but does any one see the relative relation and similarities TODAY..in what the Jews,Zionists, Israelis have and are doing in Israel/ Palestine? I spoke to my father who is in Besieged Gaza on Thanks giving, and ,he asked, what is the nature of this Holiday? I explained to him coincidently what Michael ,above have written. He exclaimed with amazement of how pathetic this world is, as when atrocities are taking place, we are silent, and when evil people tell us to celebrate their evil, inhumane deeds after they are sugar coatedly changed in the history books, we just blindly follow! He is 93 years of age, and he remembers many of these things. He included ,Israel is not far behind in what its doing. It does not have a thanks giving holiday yet ,but in the Kenesset, it wants the Palestinians to swear in the oath of loyalty to the state, that disposed them from their homes,land ,freedom, and the promise of a better life for their children. Does that sound familiar to any of us? Great article Michael, we all should be reminded of how we all got to be here, and who paid the ultimate price. Thank you.
While we’re st it, you should not leave out the cleansing of Jews from the Arab world. In some of those nations. such as Iraq, Jews predate the arrival of conquering Arabs. Oh and remind you poor father that it is Games that is holding Gaza hostage. Otherwise justvjrp your snyi Semitic self off this board.
What a very thoughtful comment, Monir. You obviously look at the world through a lens of social justice.
Michael. You might want you might want yo ask Monir about hid ideas on the Holocaust. He seems to fault Zionist s.