THANKSGIVING WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM
I give thanks for the Buffalo that have returned to North
America
There are many
untruths told regarding our indigenous people of Turtle Island (North America)
and Thanksgiving is not a Native American friendly concept. The truth reveals a much more self serving
agenda of the European Puritans. Clearly
the Puritans would not have survived without the help of their Indian
neighbors. New England winters can be very harsh. From the Puritan perspective, some of the provision they brought from overseas were shared as well. There was a true sharing of resources and cultures and that is significant. I wish our European/Indian relationships could have survived on that way. I think greed got in the way.
I feel it is a good idea to explore how both traditions came to be in existence and maybe we can choose to be thankful every day for all the beauty in our lives. A feeling of gratitude is a positive experience and it can be done without deifying God. In other words I do not Thank God because he is a human like God who needs my worship, however; there is so much I receive that I had little to do with. Gratitude is for all the generations that have given us Freedom and a voice. At my table I give thanks for having loved ones in my life. I am thankful for all my relations. This is time to list the many things I appreciate about them and the wonderful food we are about to share without religious dogma of any kind. Many Pagan cultures had a day of celebration after the harvest season. They were thankful for the food that would carry them past the winter months. Spring was sometimes the starving season and it corresponds to the Catholic lent season. Many of the foods stored for winter were now gone and crops were just being planted. Many families found this to be a struggle. During this time hunting parties were often formed to bring back game. Wild lettuce and herbs would be added to a broth as well as ground corn meal and dried beans to make soups and stews. In a new land learning to eat new vegetables and enjoy new and different game was important to the survival of our ancestors. My ancestors were both European and Native American. I am a blend of cultures. I remember the love I felt at family reunions with the more Native branch of my family. The Verdi River was seined (only the men held a net and formed a line walking up stream) for trout and cornbread and beans were served. On my great uncles farm was a huge pumpkin patch and we took several home when we left. Children were enjoyed and held. The other branch seems to be more from Switzerland and they came to America (1704) as religious refugees called Mennonites. They were very similar to the Puritans and Quakers. As a small child I felt a chill in the air around them. Children were to be quiet and sit politely and were reprimanded for any playfulness. I don’t have good memories of this. I love all my relatives of course, but seemed to thrive better in the other more loving family. The family lie: To homestead property in Texas one must be “white” back in the 1800’s. My Cherokee/Irish ancestors a certainly were part white and they started calling themselves “dark Dutch”. I think it was necessary for their survival to throw off any prejudice that existed at that time. My great uncles could walk into an Indian Pow Wow for free. They had good tans perhaps? No, because non Indians had to pay money to attend and these men were very honest about that sort of thing. Regardless of who the ancestors are, I am most grateful for having two cultures to compare and all the values that I hold dear come from shifting through memories. For those memories I am most grateful every day of my life.
I feel it is a good idea to explore how both traditions came to be in existence and maybe we can choose to be thankful every day for all the beauty in our lives. A feeling of gratitude is a positive experience and it can be done without deifying God. In other words I do not Thank God because he is a human like God who needs my worship, however; there is so much I receive that I had little to do with. Gratitude is for all the generations that have given us Freedom and a voice. At my table I give thanks for having loved ones in my life. I am thankful for all my relations. This is time to list the many things I appreciate about them and the wonderful food we are about to share without religious dogma of any kind. Many Pagan cultures had a day of celebration after the harvest season. They were thankful for the food that would carry them past the winter months. Spring was sometimes the starving season and it corresponds to the Catholic lent season. Many of the foods stored for winter were now gone and crops were just being planted. Many families found this to be a struggle. During this time hunting parties were often formed to bring back game. Wild lettuce and herbs would be added to a broth as well as ground corn meal and dried beans to make soups and stews. In a new land learning to eat new vegetables and enjoy new and different game was important to the survival of our ancestors. My ancestors were both European and Native American. I am a blend of cultures. I remember the love I felt at family reunions with the more Native branch of my family. The Verdi River was seined (only the men held a net and formed a line walking up stream) for trout and cornbread and beans were served. On my great uncles farm was a huge pumpkin patch and we took several home when we left. Children were enjoyed and held. The other branch seems to be more from Switzerland and they came to America (1704) as religious refugees called Mennonites. They were very similar to the Puritans and Quakers. As a small child I felt a chill in the air around them. Children were to be quiet and sit politely and were reprimanded for any playfulness. I don’t have good memories of this. I love all my relatives of course, but seemed to thrive better in the other more loving family. The family lie: To homestead property in Texas one must be “white” back in the 1800’s. My Cherokee/Irish ancestors a certainly were part white and they started calling themselves “dark Dutch”. I think it was necessary for their survival to throw off any prejudice that existed at that time. My great uncles could walk into an Indian Pow Wow for free. They had good tans perhaps? No, because non Indians had to pay money to attend and these men were very honest about that sort of thing. Regardless of who the ancestors are, I am most grateful for having two cultures to compare and all the values that I hold dear come from shifting through memories. For those memories I am most grateful every day of my life.
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