Thanksgiving is celebrated on November 28th this year. We envision a day wherein everyone celebrates the harvest – a gift from our Mother Earth – to keep us well and fed through the winter to come.
We speak often about the growth and evolution of the American culture. We are realizing our shared humanity, we are rejecting fears and prejudices toward others, we are making amends regarding past wrongs committed, and we are seeking out and wanting to know the true history that brought us to where we are.
Human beings are realizing… the ‘other’ is my brother – we are all sparks from the same Sun.
Be Thankful for the Truth
Thanksgiving is a holiday we really love as for many of us it means family time. Beautiful memories are made at Thanksgiving – memories that last a lifetime. But lately there has been a realization that we haven’t been told the entire story. We’ve been told a story of how the holiday commemorates a gathering filled with shared gratitude for food and life. From a website called Native Hope [LINK] we learn about the Thanksgiving story.
“The dominant cultural and historical story has been told from the perspective of the European colonialists who landed near Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts in 1620. In this version of the Thanksgiving story, the holiday commemorates the peaceful, friendly meeting of English settlers and the Wampanoag tribe for three days of feasting and Thanksgiving in 1621.”
We can move down a few paragraphs and find a continuation of the story. “Most children are only taught this brief snapshot in American History, which leaves a frozen memory of peace and generosity. However, in a short time after these Thanksgiving events, circumstances and relationships between the European settlers and the Native American tribes drastically changed. Unfortunately, very few educators have the opportunity to teach students about the massacres of Native tribes like the Pequot which took place in the years that followed. They also do not mention that English settlers robbed Wampanoag graves and stole food from them to survive during their first years on this new continent.”
What an incredible time it must have been. Can we know the true story of how America came to be what it is, and still celebrate Thanksgiving? While we are enjoying a traditional meal with our loved ones, can we know the truth and still give thanks?
Thanksgiving and Native American
We did a Google search for Thanksgiving and Native American and came up with the following:
“When considering “Thanksgiving” and “Native American,” it’s important to understand that for many Native Americans, the holiday is viewed as a day of mourning rather than celebration, as it represents the beginning of colonization and the devastating impact it had on their people, despite the traditional narrative of a shared harvest feast between Pilgrims and Native Americans; many tribes, like the Wampanoag, see the holiday as a reminder of the land loss and displacement that followed the initial contact with European settlers.”
We ask again… is it possible to give thanks and also mourn the great loss experienced by the Native Americans? Yes it is possible. We can show respect for our fellow human beings – respect and gratitude.
Respect for All
On November 1st we published a blog celebrating Native American Heritage Month [LINK]. The following quote answers our questions:
“Many times we have talked about our gratitude for the evolution of the human spirit. European colonization of North America brought much pain and loss to many Native Americans. We have realized the inhumanity of it, and we are working on making it right. Reparations were made to Native Americans after WW2, and the desire exists to see them fully restored. By dedicating the month of November to honor America’s Indigenous Peoples we move closer to restoration and respect.”
The AMS Culture
At AMS we will be celebrating Thanksgiving along with millions of Americans. We are thankful for our families and friends. We are thankful for the bountiful harvest that allows us to enjoy a shared meal. We are very thankful for the way in which our culture has evolved from the inhumanity of slavery, colonization, misogyny and racism to a realization of a better, higher way of being. We honor all Native American Peoples who have suffered, we mourn with them the lives lost, and we support all efforts toward their restoration.
We’ll close with another quote from the Native American Heritage blog:
“It is a great benefit to us to study the history and understand the experience of Indigenous Peoples, so to be an advocate for the full restoration of their culture, peace and prosperity. The Indigenous Peoples include the Native Americans, Native Hawaiians and Alaska Natives. The experiences of the many tribes and families is different and all of them have worked to regain and retain their true cultural wisdom. We thank them for sharing their wisdom and knowledge with us.”
We hope all of our employees, friends, families and readers have a very enjoyable Thanksgiving!
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AMS Fulfillment is a Certified B Corporation, dedicated to People and Planet before Profit. We work to B the Change we wish to see in the world.
