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NOV. 25,1998
Page A3
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A Historically - Correct First Thanksgiving
by
J oy R amos
or alm ost a century, w e’ve
been tau g h t the “ sugar-
co a te d ” half-tru th s about
the First T hanksgiving. Its
has been b la tan tly rom anticized,
m ythed and stereotyped. W hy?
Thanksgiving was declared a na
tional holiday in the late 1800’s as part
o fa socialization program. O ur coun
try was trying to pull together with so
many diverse peoples into a com mon
national identity. Public education
began and the first Thanksgiving fel
lowship was chosen as a symbol o f
Christian charity and interracial broth
erhood for youths.
Pilgrims w ere used as the exem
plary immigrants. Their W hite Anglo
Saxon Protestant values becam e the
preferred moral standard imposed on
all new citizens. The grand effect has
left m any o f us to either accept it as
truth O R seriously question what it
means to be a “real” American.
The following notes are histori-
cally-correct versions o f the First
F
Thanksgiving that are first-hand writ
ten accounts and contributions by
historians.
* The Puritans were considered
outcasts and political aggressors in
history
England. They staged an uprising that
com pletely overthrew the King and
Parliament in 1649 and w illfully im
posed their “Rule o f Saints” (strict
Puritan orthodoxy) on the rest o f the
British people.
A fter being forced from England,
the Pilgrim s (a sub sect o f Puritans)
headed for North America on the
May flower and a hundred other ships.
Their sole purpose was to establish
their prophesied “Holy Kingdom ” by
Samoset, Massasoit (leader o f the
Wampanoags) and their imm ediate
families to the Thanksgiving celebra
tion. The true reason for the invite was
to negotiate a treaty that w ould secure
the lands o f the Plym outh Plantation
for the Pilgrims.
Traditionally for Puritans, a day o f
thanksgiving is a day o f prayer and
fasting. The Pilgrims felt blessed in
having a bountiful harvest o f barley
(for beer)and Indian com. In 1627, fifty
Pilgrims and ninety W ampanoag Indi
ans gathered for three m id-day din
ners mixed with leisure and recreation.
W ild turkey was abundant in N ew
England but was not the main fare. The
W ampanoag Indians offered five deer,
ducks, geese and swans for the occa
sion.
♦Unfortunately, H ianksgivingdid
not becom e a yearly tradition. O ne
generation later, the children o f the
F irst Thanksgiving clashed in a geno
cidal confl ict known as King Phi llip ’ s
War. M any o f the surviving Indians
w ere sold into slavery in the Carolinas.
This practice was so lucrative that
several Puritan shipow ners in Boston
began raiding the Ivory Coast o f A f
rica for Black slaves to sell in the
South, thus founding the American-
based slave trade.
D espite the brutally honest facts
given, it wasn ’ t done to provoke anger
at a racial injustice. M y point was to
present the truth about our shared
history. It is m ore o f a bittersweet
account that shouldn’t m ake Thanks
giving less meaningful.
Thanksgi ving is still a grand oppor
tunity to be with family as a gesture o f
true presence, if not loving, then
friendly. It’s also a reminder to keep
the heart - center open in full gratitude.
We are ultimately all interconnected
by cords o f love. In realizing this, we
can be in Thanksgiving at every m o
m ent
•
Special credit goes to Chuck Larsen
fo r
h is
re s e a rc h
h elp .
■ »4 •
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! ! N O W TA K IN G A PPL IC A T IO N S ! !
C o m m i s s i o n e r E r ik S te n
v o ic e d s im ila r c o n c e rn s w hen
h e v o te d a g a in s t th e p re v io u s
z o n e s la st y e a r. “ I h a v e few er
c o n c e rn s w ith th e w ay i t ’s b e
ing h a n d le d n o w , w ith the e x
c lu sio n s m a d e b y a ju d g e ra th e r
th a n th e p o lic e ,” S te n say s.
H o w ev er, h e say s, he s till w an ts
to se e h o w th e e x is tin g zo n es
are w o rk in g .
A c c o rd in g to H ay d e n , they
are w orking w ell, w ith arrests for
d ru g sa le s an d p o se ssio n in the
A lb e rta zo n e cut n e a rly in h a lf
from th e y e a r b efo re. H o w ev er,
p u b lic d e fe n d e r A lan N orris told
the E lio t A sso c ia tio n th a t the
o rd in a n c e is u sed to h ara ss su s
p e c ts, w h o d iso b e y it o u t o f ig
n o ran c e b e c a u se it is n o t e x
p la in e d to th e m p ro p e rly . D av id
F id an q u e , e x e c u tiv e d ire c to r o f
th e A m e ric a n C iv il L ib e rtie s
U n io n , c o m p la in s th a t p o lic e
so m e tim es e x c e e d the re s tric
tio n s im p o sed b y ju d g e s.
“ Y o u ’re n o t a llo w e d to short-
c i r c u i t th e b i l l o f r i g h t s , ”
F id a n q u e say s. “ It is n ’t s u p
p o se d to o p e ra te fo r th e c o n v e
n ie n c e o f th e p o lic e .”
S u ch issu es w ere also raise d
in W oodlaw n, R a d m iliv ich says.
“ T h is is n ’t p e rfe c t, b u t no one
has p ro p o se d an a lte rn a tiv e ,” he
says. “ W e h av e a lo t o f drug
d ea lin g h ere, w e h av e sh o o tin g s,
w e h av e a t-risk y o u th w ho are
g ettin g ca u g h t up in th ese things,
an d w e ’re tire d o f it.”
' •'
taking lands aw ay from the N ative
people. Based on the B ible’s book o f
Revelations, they saw them selves as
the “C hosen Elect” to “purify” an y
one not aligned with their beliefs. Their
m eans o f religious conversion w as
through deception, treachery, torture,
w ar and genocide.
* Thè Pilgrims encountered the
W am panoag Indians, a confederacy
o f A lg o n k ia n -s p e a k in g p e o p le s
know n as the League o f the Delaware.
T hey held a basic mistrust o f W hites
and w ere guarded in showing charity
and hospitality tow ards the settlers.
* Captain Miles Standish, the leader
o f the Pilgrim s, invited Squanto,
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