Okay I like Thanksgiving and I am a native of America. For me the holiday conjures warm memories of my late loved ones supping around the hearth in North Hatfield. A young adult during the Great Depression, my memere (grandmother) would bring over some gin in a re-used medicine bottle and we'd enjoy a martini or two during the day (after I was of age of course). It didn't take many the way she made them. Turkey Day was my dad's favorite holiday and it grew to become mine too. It compells me to think of family and friends and pleasant days from the past, present and hopefully the future. It is a day to thank those whose lives I'm privileged to participate in. Thank you.
That said, I am not of Native American descent.
Now I know some Redoubt readers will think I'm sniveling, but in the back of my mind I cannot erase the plight of native Americans while I'm watching Macy's Parade or Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving Day Special. I enjoy the day but wonder what might have been had North America not seen the displacement and near elimination of its native peoples; had the European and Native American cultures melded together rather than the opposite. What would our population look like today? How would we use the land and educate our children? Would the geographical area today known as the United States be a third world country or a prosperous nation or fall somewhere in between? Would Indian Tribes operate casinos on sovereign soil? Is historical Native American life an exemplar of what Smart Growth could have been? Have we as a people evolved or devolved since that chapter of American history which is still playing out? What are the lessons learned even today as we move forward both locally and globally?
Below are two videos of a different view on American colonialism. They are not pleasant. That is not to generalize and imply that all people of Native American descent feel this way, but merely to offer the sobering reality that not all peoples celebrate the fourth Thursday in November as a day of thanks. I think that is something to reflect upon for what it's worth.
