Portland Observer, December 3, 1981 Page 5
Later for Thanksgiving
by Ronnie Herndon, Co-Chairman, Black United F ront
For many years I fell Thanksgiv
ing was one o f the m osl b a rb a ric
and paganistic ritu a ls ever p ra c
ticed. According to the story white
people landed in A m erica and
nearly starved to death. In dians
stepped in, shared food and taught
the Pilgrims how to plant crops. To
show their appreciation the Pilgrims
held a Day o f Thanks on which they
had a big feast with the Indians and
thanked God for their survival.
A fte r the gracious P ilgrim s got
the w rinkles out o f their stomachs
and half-way knew where their next
meal was coming from , they began
murdering and stealing from the In
dians. These early white settlers be
gan enthusiastically taking part in
the age-old European custom o f
scalping. Yes. scalping was started
by whites; as a mutter o f fact those
so-called great purveyors o f civiliza
tio n , the G reeks, were one o f the
earliest practitioners o f scalping.
Scalping got so good to early A m
erican settlets that they began to put
a bounty on each Indian scalp. Gov
ernor K ic fl o f New Ncthcrland orig
inated the idea o f paying for human
scalps, and w ith this p ro fit motive,
the Dutch v irtu a lly cleared what is
now southern New Y ork and New
Jersey o f Indians before the English
move in . By 1703 the c o lo n y o f
Massachusetts was paying the equiv
alent o f about $60 fo r every Indian
scalp.
In the m id -I8 th century Pennsyl
vania fixed the b o u n ty fo r a male
Indian scalp at $134; a female’ s was
worth $30. It was only in the mid-to-
latc 19th century that Indians them
selves began scalping, and this was
in response to massive e xte rm in a
tio n e ffo rts by w hites. T his was a
c e n tu ry -a n d -a -h a lf a fte r the firs t
white man had scalped the first In
dian.
A ll o f this can be found in Peter
barb’s book, M a n ’s Rise To C iviliz
ation. When Farb wrote the book he
was c u ra to r o f A m e rica n In d ia n
C u ltu re s at R iverside M useum in
New York City.
In view o f this history that recks
with the stench o f murder, massacre
and mayhem, I found Thanksgiving
Io be the epitome o f hypocrisy. Now
I learn the true h isto ry o f T hanks
g iv in g is fa r m ore satanic than 1
th o u g h t. A U .S. C om m ission On
C iv il Rights p e rio d ic a l, The C iv il
Rights Q uarterly Perspectives, dis
cusses an article w ritten by W illiam
B. Ncwall, a Penobscot Indian and
fo rm e r head o f the U n iv e rs ity o f
Connecticut’ s anthropology depart
ment. Newall recounts wh9t really
happened at P lym o u th C o lo n y in
1637.
E nglish and D utch m ercenaries
came upon a group o f Indians d u r
ing one o f their religious rites— the
annual green corn dance. Ordered
out o f the b u ild in g in w hich they
had gathered the Indians were shot
down as they ran. Those staying be
hind were burned alive. “ The very
next day the Governor [o f the Mas
sachusetts Bay C o lo n y] declared a
Thanksgiving Day [and] for the next
100 years every Thanksgiving Day
o rd a in e d by a g o ve rn o r [was] to
h o n o r a bloody v ic to ry , th a n k in g
God that the battle had been w on.”
Most white Americans w ill pro b
ably continue celebrating this Indian
massacre; since its in c e p tio n th is
country has all too often wallowed
in sanctim o n io u s falsehoods and
tric k e ra tio n . Black people should
call a halt to taking part in this ritu
alistic abom ination. W ould we par
tic ip a te in T h a n ksg ivin g i f it ce l
ebrated murdering Black people?
One alternative is using this h o li
day to celebrate Black Family Day,
a practice developed locally by the
Black Educational Center. They felt
this tim e could be used fo r us to
come together and give thanks and
show special a p p reciatio n fo r o u r
families. We do fight so very hard to
stay to g e th e r; m ost i f not a ll we
achieve is because o f the strength,
courage and intelligence we learned
from our immediate fam ily and our
extended fa m ily , the B lack co m
munity.
Use this day to reflect upon how
hard our ancestors struggled keep
ing just the concept o f fa m ily alive
w hile th is c o u n try condoned o u r
m others’ being raped and treated
lik e brood mares. T h e ir c h ild re n
were snatched screaming from their
arms and sold like livestock. In spite
o f this hell on earth our ancestors
m iraculously clung to the notion o f
fam ily. O ur thoughts and sincerest
thanks should go out to m illions o f
single Black women w ho today by
themselves care and provide fo r a l
most h a lf o f a ll Black ch ild re n in
America. A ll too often we take their
daily heroism for granted.
N ow we ca n ’ t say we d id n ’ t
know, hope most o f us w on’ t con
tinue ce le b ra tin g a w h ite h o lid a y
that m arked the beg in n in g o f the
end for m illions o f Indians.
From the Capitol
by Rep. Ron Wyden
Á
Q The news out o f Washington
this week was devoted almost solely
to one issue— the debate over the
governm ent spending h ill and the
president's veto o f that bill. What is
vour reaction to the whole affair?
4. My reaction, and that o f many
o f my colleagues, is embarrassment
and outrage I'm embarrassed that
we put the Am erican people in the
position o f having to w orry about
whether they w ould have access to
the necessary services— and o u t
raged that the rules kept being
changed from moment to moment.
In many ways, it was a b it lik e
having the goal posts moved con
stantly during the middle o f a foot-
b all game. A t several p o in ts , we
seemed to have reached an agree
m e n t— and then the goal posts
would be moved again. Clearly, no
one can operate e ffe c tiv e ly in a
situation like that.
A nd as one o f my colleagues
noted, one might reasonably think
that a fight was being staged just to
divert attention from the economy.
W ith unemployment and high inter
est rates devastating the P a c ific
Northwest and the rest o f the coun
try, what better way to keep people
o ff balance than to pick a fight?
I'm especially outraged at where
the lines were drawn. Although the
W hite House called fo r increased
social cuts, it was unw illing to tig h t
en the belt on foreign aid abuses and
m ilita r y cost o ve rru n s. As one
senator reportedly put it, this adds
up to “ a p o lic y o f ta k in g and
c u ttin g fro m (he tr u ly needy and
giving it to the truly greedy.”
We simply cannot ask disadvant
aged children to go without a decent
meal w hile we continue to finance
huge m ilita r y cost o verruns. We
cannot ask poor working mothers to
give up the money they depend on to
help them stay o ff welfare while we
continue to subsidize industries such
as svnfuels that can easily make it
on their own.
I was not surprised to read in the
m orning papers that the Am erican
people are up in arms about the
econom ic policies c u rre n tly being
promoted in this country. O ur eco
nom y is o b v io u s ly stagnatin g
through a recession— and i t ’ s not
going to get any better i f we waste
o u r lim e w ith th e a trics and
oneupsmanship such as we’ ve seen
this week.
Forum on E m p lo ym en t Issues and S trateg ies fo r In n er NE P o rt
land. The Training and Employment Division o f the City o f Portland,
Human Resources Burea, will hold a community forum on December 8,
1981,6:43 pm-8:3O pm at the King Neighborhood Facility (Cafetorium).
For further information contact Jimmy Brown at 248-4914 or 248-4474.
Public Hearing on Aging. The Area Agency on Aging will hold a public
hearing on the C om m unity Discussion D ra ft o f the Aging Policy for
Portland and Multnomah County, Dec. 4, I pm, at the M att Dishman
Com m unity Center, 77 N .E . K n o tt, 287-1460. Both oral and written
testimony will be received at the public hearing. Written testimony c»n also
be sent, until Dec. 4, 1981 to: Erma E. Hepburn, Executive Director, Hu
man Resources Bureau, 322 S.W . 3th Avenue, 8th floor, Portland OR
97204. For further information call Cilla Murray, 248-4752.
HOW DOES HOUSE TIGHTENING
AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT?
Help us to Identity the ra n g e of actions,
alternatives, a n d Im p acts to b e co n
sidered In the environm ental Im p a c t
statem ent (IIS) on BPA's proposal to
e x p a n d Its re g io n w id e residential
w eath erization p ro gram We invite you
to com m ent a t a p ub lic m eeting or to
send your com m ents In writing
Bonneville Power Administration proposes
to expand its current weatherization pro
gram to include energy-conserving
house tightening" measures for more
electrically heated homes Only about 30
percent of the homes under BPA's current
program qualify for measures such as
weatherstripping, caulking, storm win
dows. storm doors, or outlet and switch-
plate gaskets The EIS will evaluate tighten
ing of the other 70 percent which are
excluded due to potential problems with
indoor air quality
Written com m ents that will help defer
mine the scope of the EIS will be received
until Dec 14,1981
Comments or questions regarding the EIS
should be directed to Anthony P Morrell
Acting Environmental M anager BPA PO
Box 3621 - SJ. Portland, OP 97208 tele
phone (503) 234-3361. Ext 5137
For further Inform ation on the scoping
meetings, contact our Public Involvement
Coordinator, PO Box 12999. Portland. OP
97212, telephone (503) 234-3361. Ext 4261
Toll-free numbers for persons outside the
Portland calling area are in Oregon
1-800-452 8429 in Washington Idaho
Montana. Utah. Nevada Wyoming or C a l
ifornia, 1-800-547-6048
Rem em ber. What you say counts.
A public m e etin g on the scope of the EIS
is scheduled for 7 30 p m Wednesday.
Dec 9. in the BPA Auditorium. 1002 NE
Holladay St Portland Registration will
begin at 7 p m
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ALL NEW FUEL EFFICIENT CARS
LOW DAILY RATES - FROM »19«
WEEKEND RATES - ‘15°®
MAJOR CREDIT CARDS OR CASH
G e ttin g o u r econom y back on
track w ill require the combined e ff
orts o f the Congress and the A dm in
is tra tio n . I ju s t hope th a t we can
quit playing games and get on w ith
the business o f achieving that end.
From the Boardroom
by Gladys McCoy, County Commissioner
How I wish the fo llo w in g in fo r
mation could be more pleasant, but
it isn't. However, I would be remiss
il I did not tell you the way it really
is fo r M u llh o m a h C o u n ty . M u lt
nomah C o u n ty governm en t, lik e
other government units, faces hard
lim es d u rin g the 1982-83 budget
year I ederal and State budget cuts
w ill reduce County dollars substan
tia lly. M ultnom ah C ounty w ill not
be able to continue to provide the
same level o f services to the public
as in prior years.
As your County Commissioner, I
am deeply concerned about overall
budget cuts in C o u n ty services.
However, as a Human Services ad
vocate, I ant especially concerned
about the proposed cuts in Human
Services and Justice Service budgets
during these hard economic times. It
is anticipated that over $4 m illio n
w ill be cut fro m the 1982 Federal/
State block grant allocation a ffe c t
ing H um an Services program s
alone This means some program s
to be w ithdraw n fro m the C ounty
Human Services budget include: Re
h a b ilita tio n Services, Fam ily P lan
ning, Venereal Disease C ontrol, and
Im m u n iz a tio n . O f course in
econom ic hard tim es, p u b lic
demand for Human Services w ill ex
ceed the supply o f resources because
o f reduced programs.
In addition to my concern for the
serious reductions in H um an Ser
vices. my concern fo r an improved
Justice Services program is im pera
tive . The C o u n ty co n tinue s to be
saddled w ith overcrow ded ja ils .
( rime continues to soar some 26 per
cent over 1980. A d d itio n a l C ounty
dollars must be spent to make space
available to house public offenders
fro m a budget that is stretched as
tight as it can be. Yet we must pro
vide fo r the safety o f our citizens.
Los desaparecidos
(f ontinued from page I column ft)
m ilitary and security forces.
Amnesty Internation al, a v olun
teer organization dedicated to free
ing political prisoners, has taken the
“ disappeared" as a special project
for the coming year. E fforts w ill be
made to publicize the fate o f in d i
vidual “ desaparecidos” as well as to
expose governm ents w ho practice
this form o f torture.
I he Portland chapter was estab
lished in 1974 and through the years
has been assigned fifte e n p o litic a l
prisoners. Members w rite letters to
the government involved always a
government other than the IJ.S.— in
an attem pt to have Ihe prisoner
freed. I hey w rite the prisoner, rel
atives, and when necessary provide
financial support for relatives.
I he tw o prisoners c u rre n tly as
signed Io the P o rtla n d group are
from Paraguay and Ethiopia.
Ihe Paraguayan had been a mem
ber o f the t iirnmuntst Parly, which
at the tim e was legal but fo llo w in g
the m ilitary coup became illegal. He
also was a trade u n io n m em ber,
which is often considered "s u b v e r
s iv e " in nations ruled by m ilita ry
d ic ta to rs h ip s . T h is man was sen
fenced to five years in prison and
has recently com pleted Ins lim e so
P o rtla n d members o f A I hope he
w ill soon be released. In the mean
tim e they have helped support his
mother and niece.
I he Ethiopian woman is a former
o ffic ia l w ith the cu rre n t g o ve rn
ment's m inistry o f education but is a
m em ber o f a d iffe re n t p o litic a l
patty. She was imprisoned, but has
“ disappeared ” I he local chapter
continues to inquire o f the govern
menl about her whereabouts, but do
not know if she is still alive
Ms. lane K ris to f, a local volun
leer, invites persons who are inter
esled to attend a m eeting or ca ll.
Volunteers come from all walks ol
life and share varied s k ills each
doing what they can to bring free
To do this means cutting or e lim in
ating some County programs.
Proposed budgetary solutions for
M u ltnom ah C ounty rem ain uncer
ta in since a d d itio n a l budget cuts
have been proposed at both the Fed
eral and State levels. A t the local
level, Multnomah County must find
a continuing funding source to o f f
set its deficit. Possibly, revenues w ill
need to be increased. Revenues can
only be increased by an increase in
fees or taxes. The County must find
new ways to solve old problems with
less dollars.
You. the public, can help me find
solutions I welcome public input re
garding your C o u n ty d o lla rs and
how they can best be managed d u r
ing these hard econom ic lim es.
M ultnom ah C ounty begins its bud
gel process for fiscal year 1982-83 in
January, 1982. I w ould appreciate
receiving your suggestions, recom
mendations, and comments now. It
dom to a citizen o f another country.
Meetings arc held al Sm ith Center,
Room 230, at Portland State U n iv
ersity on the firs t F rid a y o f each
month at 7:30 p.m. Inform ation can
be obtained fro m chairm an A llen
Kingston at 773 6578.
/D ra w in g : Rode M o r, fr o m A t SC
"G lo b a l U pdate")
City hiring
( i 'ontinued from page I column ft)
lining goal lot women. H iring goals
were met ot exceeded in the “ tech
n ic ia n s " and “ s k ille d c ra fts ”
categories with 26 technicians and 2
skilled craflsw om en hired. These
categories are s till u n d e ru tiliz e d
w ith 15 and 12 hires necessary to
meet p a rity. A lthough women are
s till u n d e ru tilize d in five categor
ies o fficials/adm inistra tors, tech
nicians, protective services, skilled
crafts, and service m aintenance-
success in hiring women and a lower
turnover rate allowed net progress
toward panly in all live categories.
would be most helpful to me during
the decision-making process.
Folks, we have to get by with less!
Please get involved by w riting to me
direct, calling my o ffice (248-5219),
or dropping by.
Fred Meyer
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