Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. It is a special day, set aside to give thanks for the bounties of Nature, by sharing food with family and friends, in gratitude for their Blessings.
Unlike the Harvest Festivals of other societies, Thanksgiving Day does not feature references to a particular religious view of Divinity. This is due to the fact that the United States was founded as a Deist - or agnostic - country, allowing all forms of worship, while designating no specific religion as “official”.
Deism, in its most basic form, holds that while God may exist, it is inherent in human nature to seek and discover such knowledge and that the best way to do so is by studying Nature.
Much earlier, when the first European settler-colonists landed upon North American shores, they encountered many Native American cultures, all based upon a high regard for Nature and the belief that a Creator - who could be described by the English Language term “God” – had created Humanity, as part of Nature and not separate.
Modern American Legend holds that the “Pilgrim Fathers” who landed in Massachusetts and their Indian hosts sat down together at “The First Thanksgiving” and shared their food in Peace.
This legend could be an example for all peoples everywhere and could provide the basis for a global rapprochment, respecting all beliefs of all peoples.
Sadly, this is difficult, for the legend itself is flawed. While the Pilgrim refugees from Britain and The Netherlands were indeed advised by their Native American hosts, as to what could be harvested in the harsh climate of Massachusetts, the reward for this hospitality was far from a spirit of mutual “Thanksgiving”. Instead of “supper”, the Pilgrims gave slaughter.
The Pilgrims were also called “Puritans”and were scorned by their European compatriots for their harsh interpretation of the Bible and their belief that they alone were designated by God as a “Chosen People”, superseding and surpassing the Jews of the Bible.
They also believed that Nature, by its very nature, was a source of “temptation” that must be conquered.
Although the Deist founders of the United States had a different view of Nature, the legend of the “Pilgrim Fathers” has had lasting effects.
One may see in the historical development of the United States, from its conquest of the continent and near total genocidal policies toward the Native American, to its current quest for global domination, the roots of a pathology of superiority, born from the beliefs of the Puritans, much revered as “the Pilgrim Fathers”.
Fortunately, there are many Americans who see in Thanksgiving, the seeds of a greater “Universal Thanksgiving” where the legend will blossom into a world harvest of Peace.
In the hope that this will come to be, we wish everyone a most Peaceful and Happy Thanksgiving Day and hope that the Thanksgiving Legend may soon come true !
We also hope that you will read the following article on “The First Thanksgiving” and that through a thoughtful re-examination of American History, we may all find ways to live together peacefully.
Paul V. Rafferty
The First Thanksgiving
From the Community Endeavor News, November, 1995,
as reprinted in Healing Global Wounds, Fall, 1996
The first official Thanksgiving wasn't a festive gathering of Indians and Pilgrims, but rather a celebration of the massacre of 700 Pequot men, women and children, an anthropologist says. Due to age and illness his voice cracks as he talks about the holiday, but William B. Newell, 84, talks with force as he discusses Thanksgiving. Newell, a Penobscot, has degrees from two universities, and was the former chairman of the anthropology department at the University of Connecticut.
"Thanksgiving Day was first officially proclaimed by the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637 to commemorate the massacre of 700 men, women and children who were celebrating their annual green corn dance-Thanksgiving Day to them-in their own house," Newell said.
"Gathered in this place of meeting they were attacked by mercenaries and Dutch and English. The Indians were ordered from the building and as they came forth they were shot down. The rest were burned alive in the building," he said.
Newell based his research on studies of Holland Documents and the 13 volume Colonial Documentary History, both thick sets of letters and reports from colonial officials to their superiors and the king in England, and the private papers of Sir William Johnson, British Indian agent for the New York colony for 30 years in the mid-1600s.
"My research is authentic because it is documentary," Newell said. "You can't get anything more accurate than that because it is first hand. It is not hearsay."
Newell said the next 100 Thanksgivings commemorated the killing of the Indians at what is now Groton, Ct. [home of a nuclear submarine base] rather than a celebration with them. He said the image of Indians and Pilgrims sitting around a large table to celebrate Thanksgiving Day was "fictitious" although Indians did share food with the first settlers.
Republished in conjunction with:
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
1 (207) 729-0517
globalnet@mindspring.com
http://www.space4peace.org
Please also see:
The First Thanksgiving Proclamation;
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5302.htm
Sacred sites and the ‘Concentrated will’ of the West
Special to Indian Country Today;
http://www.indiancountry.com/?1068221807
and
America’s First Welfare Case;
http://www.indiancountry.com/?1069428905
Wesley BadHeartBull
"no thanksgiving at our house"
http://www.geocities.com/lisbethduck/thanksgiving.html
The Dark Historical Roots Of Our 'Thanksgiving'
Lest We Forget...
From Tristan;
http://www.rense.com/general45/thanks.htm
'Why I Hate Thanksgiving'
By Mitchel Cohen with much material contributed by Peter Linebaugh
and others whose names have over the years been lost;
http://www.rense.com/general45/thanks2.htm
Hunger increasing around the world after earlier decline - UN food agency;
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=8986&Cr=food&Cr1=hunger
Don't forget to watch Farm Aid 2003 on PBS this Thanksgiving evening!!
Musicians Teamed Up to Support Family Farmers
This Thanksgiving, after the turkey is gone and the table's been cleared, settle in to watch Farm Aid 2003: A Soundstage Special Event presented by Silk Soymilk on your local PBS station from 9:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. EST (check your local listings).
Premiering for the first time on national public television, this musical celebration features performances by artists who have rallied to make this event a powerful social force in supporting farmers and strengthening America. Farm Aid 2003 was taped September 7 at the Germain Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio. This two-hour primetime special features performances by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews. Also taking center stage for the cause are Sheryl Crow, Brooks & Dunn, Emmylou Harris, Los Lonely Boys, Hootie & the Blowfish, Billy Bob Thornton and Trick Pony.
For information about how you can support family farmers and guarantee your access to fresh, healthful food, visit: http://www.farmaid.org/
To learn more about food irradiation, visit: http://www.citizen.org/cmep/
Unlike the Harvest Festivals of other societies, Thanksgiving Day does not feature references to a particular religious view of Divinity. This is due to the fact that the United States was founded as a Deist - or agnostic - country, allowing all forms of worship, while designating no specific religion as “official”.
Deism, in its most basic form, holds that while God may exist, it is inherent in human nature to seek and discover such knowledge and that the best way to do so is by studying Nature.
Much earlier, when the first European settler-colonists landed upon North American shores, they encountered many Native American cultures, all based upon a high regard for Nature and the belief that a Creator - who could be described by the English Language term “God” – had created Humanity, as part of Nature and not separate.
Modern American Legend holds that the “Pilgrim Fathers” who landed in Massachusetts and their Indian hosts sat down together at “The First Thanksgiving” and shared their food in Peace.
This legend could be an example for all peoples everywhere and could provide the basis for a global rapprochment, respecting all beliefs of all peoples.
Sadly, this is difficult, for the legend itself is flawed. While the Pilgrim refugees from Britain and The Netherlands were indeed advised by their Native American hosts, as to what could be harvested in the harsh climate of Massachusetts, the reward for this hospitality was far from a spirit of mutual “Thanksgiving”. Instead of “supper”, the Pilgrims gave slaughter.
The Pilgrims were also called “Puritans”and were scorned by their European compatriots for their harsh interpretation of the Bible and their belief that they alone were designated by God as a “Chosen People”, superseding and surpassing the Jews of the Bible.
They also believed that Nature, by its very nature, was a source of “temptation” that must be conquered.
Although the Deist founders of the United States had a different view of Nature, the legend of the “Pilgrim Fathers” has had lasting effects.
One may see in the historical development of the United States, from its conquest of the continent and near total genocidal policies toward the Native American, to its current quest for global domination, the roots of a pathology of superiority, born from the beliefs of the Puritans, much revered as “the Pilgrim Fathers”.
Fortunately, there are many Americans who see in Thanksgiving, the seeds of a greater “Universal Thanksgiving” where the legend will blossom into a world harvest of Peace.
In the hope that this will come to be, we wish everyone a most Peaceful and Happy Thanksgiving Day and hope that the Thanksgiving Legend may soon come true !
We also hope that you will read the following article on “The First Thanksgiving” and that through a thoughtful re-examination of American History, we may all find ways to live together peacefully.
Paul V. Rafferty
The First Thanksgiving
From the Community Endeavor News, November, 1995,
as reprinted in Healing Global Wounds, Fall, 1996
The first official Thanksgiving wasn't a festive gathering of Indians and Pilgrims, but rather a celebration of the massacre of 700 Pequot men, women and children, an anthropologist says. Due to age and illness his voice cracks as he talks about the holiday, but William B. Newell, 84, talks with force as he discusses Thanksgiving. Newell, a Penobscot, has degrees from two universities, and was the former chairman of the anthropology department at the University of Connecticut.
"Thanksgiving Day was first officially proclaimed by the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637 to commemorate the massacre of 700 men, women and children who were celebrating their annual green corn dance-Thanksgiving Day to them-in their own house," Newell said.
"Gathered in this place of meeting they were attacked by mercenaries and Dutch and English. The Indians were ordered from the building and as they came forth they were shot down. The rest were burned alive in the building," he said.
Newell based his research on studies of Holland Documents and the 13 volume Colonial Documentary History, both thick sets of letters and reports from colonial officials to their superiors and the king in England, and the private papers of Sir William Johnson, British Indian agent for the New York colony for 30 years in the mid-1600s.
"My research is authentic because it is documentary," Newell said. "You can't get anything more accurate than that because it is first hand. It is not hearsay."
Newell said the next 100 Thanksgivings commemorated the killing of the Indians at what is now Groton, Ct. [home of a nuclear submarine base] rather than a celebration with them. He said the image of Indians and Pilgrims sitting around a large table to celebrate Thanksgiving Day was "fictitious" although Indians did share food with the first settlers.
Republished in conjunction with:
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
1 (207) 729-0517
globalnet@mindspring.com
http://www.space4peace.org
Please also see:
The First Thanksgiving Proclamation;
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5302.htm
Sacred sites and the ‘Concentrated will’ of the West
Special to Indian Country Today;
http://www.indiancountry.com/?1068221807
and
America’s First Welfare Case;
http://www.indiancountry.com/?1069428905
Wesley BadHeartBull
"no thanksgiving at our house"
http://www.geocities.com/lisbethduck/thanksgiving.html
The Dark Historical Roots Of Our 'Thanksgiving'
Lest We Forget...
From Tristan;
http://www.rense.com/general45/thanks.htm
'Why I Hate Thanksgiving'
By Mitchel Cohen with much material contributed by Peter Linebaugh
and others whose names have over the years been lost;
http://www.rense.com/general45/thanks2.htm
Hunger increasing around the world after earlier decline - UN food agency;
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=8986&Cr=food&Cr1=hunger
Don't forget to watch Farm Aid 2003 on PBS this Thanksgiving evening!!
Musicians Teamed Up to Support Family Farmers
This Thanksgiving, after the turkey is gone and the table's been cleared, settle in to watch Farm Aid 2003: A Soundstage Special Event presented by Silk Soymilk on your local PBS station from 9:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. EST (check your local listings).
Premiering for the first time on national public television, this musical celebration features performances by artists who have rallied to make this event a powerful social force in supporting farmers and strengthening America. Farm Aid 2003 was taped September 7 at the Germain Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio. This two-hour primetime special features performances by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews. Also taking center stage for the cause are Sheryl Crow, Brooks & Dunn, Emmylou Harris, Los Lonely Boys, Hootie & the Blowfish, Billy Bob Thornton and Trick Pony.
For information about how you can support family farmers and guarantee your access to fresh, healthful food, visit: http://www.farmaid.org/
To learn more about food irradiation, visit: http://www.citizen.org/cmep/