We grieve for our ancestral lands, our elders living in substandard housing, and our precious missing women, men, and children. Historical events of record are sometimes stunning: the story of the Taino Natives who found the lost and starving mariner Columbus and brought him back to good health; the stories of men and women who were captured, kidnapped and sold into slavery for their kindness; or the story of that “first thanksgiving” declared by Massachusetts Gov. John Winthrop after 700 Pequot people were murdered at Mystic Fort. These are only a few of the stories.
Understandably, Native people have an ambivalent relationship with Thanksgiving. Still, my holiday message to you is this: perform an act of kindness in some understated way.
You could visit a neighbor with a pumpkin pie, shovel someone’s sidewalk without telling them, offer your arm to an elder, make an anonymous donation to a winter clothing drive, or buy your thanksgiving fixings from Native growers in your area. |
