Blessings counted by Native Americans of 500 years

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Oakland Tribune

Blessings counted by Native Americans, despite misgivings
Many remember horror stories

By Julissa McKinnon STAFF WRITER

Thursday, November 28, 2002 - As many schoolchildren around the Bay
Area impersonate Pilgrims and talking turkeys, some Native Americans
can't recall the first legendary Plymouth encounter without also
remembering the horror stories of the past 500 years.

Eighth-grade teacher Barbara Potter at Archway School in Oakland sets
time aside every year to share the less-often-heard side of the
Thanksgiving story.

On the one holiday when mainstream America reflects on relations
between white settlers and native inhabitants, there is no mention of
the violence, disease, smallpox, boarding schools or any struggle, she
said. Instead, there are idyllic scenes of Pilgrim-Indian harmony
emblazoned on greeting cards, cartoons, coloring books, house
decorations and dish towels.

Potter says she tries to balance out the myth with a grain of truth.

On Tuesday, Potter gave her eighth-grade class a history lesson about
the origin of the word "thanksgiving." With 13 pairs of eyes fixed on
her, Potter opened the National Geographic book titled "1621: A New Look
at Thanksgiving," and relayed the following:

In July 1637, 16 years after the Pilgrims shared a feast with members
of the Wampanoag tribe, Captain John Mason ordered the burning of the
Pequot fort, killing 700 men, women and children. The survivors were
then sold into slavery. Mason then declared a day of "thanksgiving to
God for subduing the Pequots," Potter read.

When she opened the floor for class comments, a few students asked why
they had never before been taught about the origin of the word
"thanksgiving."

Grace Anderson, 14, sat back with crossed arms as she shared her
soft-spoken response:

"I think it's really awful what happened to the people when the
Europeans came," she said. "But it's almost more awful how it's still
being covered up, and most kids don't know the real story."

Potter knows the story may shock and disturb some students. But she
says the history lesson also teaches her kids to question everything
they are told and to check sources.

But the irony of "Thanksgiving" for some native people is that in
indigenous culture, thanksgiving is every day, said Bill "Jimbo"
Simmons, an organizer of the 26-year-old Thanksgiving sunrise ceremony
on Alcatraz Island. But all of America joins them in this ritual now,
said Simmons, of the Choctaw tribe, who now lives in San Francisco.

But while the Alcatraz gathering is a thanking to the creator for air,
water, plants, animals and all life, the event also takes stock of
everything native people have to be unthankful for.

"All the promises the government gave to us, they broke from Day 1.
We're thankful every day, so what makes this day different is America
calls it Thanksgiving," he said. "After what was done to our people and
other people in the world, they use this day to say it's a holy day. But
we are here to remember what we have to be unthankful about -- the
hundreds of thousands of acres of land that were stolen, the economic
and social conditions faced on reservations."

But by no means is there a Native American consensus on how to
interpret Thanksgiving -- responses are as diverse as the tribes,
traditions and languages found throughout native America.

Many like Jeanie Ramos of the Yurok tribe celebrate the holiday like
most of America, with lots of family, friends, turkey and all the
trimmings -- although some years, she said, her family has opted for
tri-tip or fresh deer meat. She appreciates that the holiday recognizes
the contributions of the Indians to the white man, instead of vice
versa. But Ramos, who lives in Brentwood, adds that she is glad that the
Europeans came.

As a born-again Christian, she says she has benefited from the European
arrival.

"The Pilgrims came here because of religious persecution, and I see
myself all these centuries later benefiting from the coming of
Christianity to America," she said. "I don't approve of the methods used
by missionaries of various religions, but being Christian has made a
difference in my life."

Others such as Larry Swimmer, a Lakota father of eight who lives in
Hayward, see Thanksgiving as an opportunity to feast, drum, sing, and
most importantly laugh with family and friends. And Swimmer said that
although the story told on Thanksgiving is mythical, it holds a
worthwhile message.

"In the mythical celebration of sharing the bounty with Pilgrims, we
recognize they were guests in our land, and from a spiritual standpoint
sharing and helping each other is something we should always aspire to
do," he said.

"We are here for a short time, and we should learn to enjoy to
appreciate each other as human beings, not because we're white or native
but for the specific unique qualities each human being has. It's the
protocol for respect."