It was just today that I was reading Stuff White People Do and read an informative post about the, United American Indian's of New England (UAINE), National Day of Mourning which takes place on Thanksgiving Day in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The event includes a march, speeches, and protest.
(source)
39th National Native American Day Of Mourning
Nov. 27, 2008, Thanksgiving (or thanks-"taking") Day
The UAINE website explains,
An annual tradition since 1970, Day of Mourning is a solemn, spiritual and highly political day. Many of us fast from sundown the day before through the afternoon of that day (and have a social after Day of Mourning so that participants in DOM can break their fasts). We are mourning our ancestors and the genocide of our peoples and the theft of our lands. NDOM is a day when we mourn, but we also feel our strength in political action. Over the years, participants in Day of Mourning have buried Plymouth Rock a number of times, boarded the Mayflower replica, and placed ku klux klan sheets on the statue of William Bradford, etc.
Regarding the American Thanksgiving, UAINE explains...
Here is the truth: The reason they talk about the pilgrims and not an earlier English-speaking colony, Jamestown, is that in Jamestown the circumstances were way too ugly to hold up as an effective national myth. For example, the white settlers in Jamestown turned to cannibalism to survive. Not a very nice story to tell the kids in school. The pilgrims did not find an empty land any more than Columbus "discovered" anything. Every inch of this land is Indian land.
The pilgrims (who did not even call themselves pilgrims) did not come here seeking religious freedom; they already had that in Holland. They came here as part of a commercial venture. They introduced sexism, racism, anti-lesbian and gay bigotry, jails, and the class system to these shores. One of the very first things they did when they arrived on Cape Cod -- before they even made it to Plymouth -- was to rob Wampanoag graves at Corn Hill and steal as much of the Indians' winter provisions as they were able to carry.
They were no better than any other group of Europeans when it came to their treatment of the Indigenous peoples here. And no, they did not even land at that sacred shrine down the hill called Plymouth Rock, a monument to racism and oppression which we are proud to say we buried in 1995.
The first official "Day of Thanksgiving" was proclaimed in 1637 by Governor Winthrop. He did so to celebrate the safe return of men from Massachusetts who had gone to Mystic, Connecticut to participate in the massacre of over 700 Pequot women, children, and men.
About the only true thing in the whole mythology is that these pitiful European strangers would not have survived their first several years in "New England" were it not for the aid of Wampanoag people. What Native people got in return for this help was genocide, theft of our lands, and never-ending repression.
But back in 1970, the organizers of [a] fancy state dinner told Wamsutta he could not speak that truth. They would let him speak only if he agreed to deliver a speech that they would provide. Wamsutta refused to have words put into his mouth. Instead of speaking at the dinner, he and many hundreds of other Native people and our supporters from throughout the Americas gathered in Plymouth and observed the first National Day of Mourning. United American Indians of New England have returned to Plymouth every year since to demonstrate against the Pilgrim mythology.
On that first Day of Mourning back in 1970, Plymouth Rock was buried not once, but twice. The Mayflower was boarded and the Union Jack was torn from the mast and replaced with the flag that had flown over liberated Alcatraz Island. The roots of National Day of Mourning have always been firmly embedded in the soil of militant protest.
Here's footage from UAINE's 2008 event.
39th Native American Day of Mourning
If you read my post (the link is posted at the top of the page) about how years ago I decided to retire Thanksgiving, you learned that I no longer enjoy Thanksgiving. I am not close with my family. I do not dislike them however, Thanksgiving has become an obligated holiday and I have opted to either work or on Thanksgiving or to engage in other activities.
Not only do I wish to avoid my sexist uncles but I don't feel comfortable celebrating a day that marks such an oppressive and bloody time in history.
These sentiments I'm sure put a damper on those who enjoy Thanksgiving however, my intent is to encourage you all to think about what Thanksgiving means to you and also to take a moment and imagine what it might mean to the Native American people.
Below is a video I have posted in the past but I think it is worth posting again. Comedian Eddie Izzard brings some levity to the painful truth.
Eddie Izzard - The First Thankgiving
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