1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: Okay, why would Thanksgiving be a national day of mourning 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:06,160 Speaker 1: but also a day of giving thanks to some folks, 3 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: It's complicated. I'm Patty Steele understanding the Native American perspective. 4 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 1: That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back. We've 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 1: all just celebrated Thanksgiving, a day to celebrate gratitude. But 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 1: backstory listener Mark Chambers from mid Lothian and Virginia had 7 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: an idea for a follow up episode to our Thanksgiving story. 8 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: Thank you, Mark. For Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day 9 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: to give thanks, but for many it's also considered a 10 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: national day of mourning. They mourn what was lost when 11 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: Europeans discovered I say that with air quotes their land 12 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: and these completely different cultures came together. It's a story 13 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: that's been romanticized over these four hundred years, and the 14 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: beginnings aren't really as romantic as we think. The Friday 15 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: following things, Thankiving, is Native American Heritage Day. So it's 16 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,680 Speaker 1: really important to remember that North America and for that matter, 17 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: South America, weren't just vast empty land masses when Europeans arrived. 18 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: North America alone was home to somewhere between five and 19 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,839 Speaker 1: ten million Native Americans hard to tell with so many 20 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: different tribes. By the way, the English settlers who arrived 21 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: in sixteen twenty weren't actually called pilgrims until the mid 22 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds, over two hundred years after their arrival here. 23 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: But by the time they did arrive, the presence of 24 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,119 Speaker 1: Europeans was already having a disastrous effect on the Native 25 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:42,759 Speaker 1: American population, introducing illnesses like smallpox to tribes they interacted with, 26 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: and it was really disastrous to the Native way of life. 27 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: Now here's the thing. The concept of land ownership just 28 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: wasn't part of their culture, and it was totally part 29 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: of European culture. So right there you kind of see 30 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: room for misunderstanding on both sides. Native Americans had tribal 31 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: hunting grounds, but that was not the same as land ownership. 32 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: Some of them were welcoming to the newcomers, believing that 33 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: they were simply allowing them to share the land, which 34 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:15,799 Speaker 1: they believed made good political sense in dealing with these 35 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: new people. But the Europeans believed they were taking the 36 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: land either for nothing or just a pittance when it 37 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: came to the financial aspects. Can you imagine what it 38 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: must feel like to have two completely different perspectives about 39 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: something so important to how you and your people live 40 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: your life. It continues today. A lot of Native Americans 41 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: see Thanksgiving as a painful reminder of the colonization and 42 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: displacement that followed the arrival of Europeans, and a lot 43 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: of these tribal communities see Thanksgiving as a day to 44 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 1: acknowledge that painful history and remember their ancestors. Some actually 45 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: prefer not to even recognize the day at all, but 46 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 1: it's really nuanced from individual to individual. Some choose to 47 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: embrace the positive messages of the day while remembering its 48 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 1: complex history. Why because the idea of giving thanks is 49 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 1: central to Native American heritage and culture. In fact, long 50 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: before settlers got here, tribes celebrated the autumn harvest and 51 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: mother Earth's abundance with days of thanksgiving and gratitude. Native 52 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:28,800 Speaker 1: American spirituality celebrates gratitude for creation, protecting the environment, and 53 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: also recognizing the human need to commune with nature. Thanksgiving 54 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 1: as a holiday actually originates from the Native American belief 55 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: in giving without expecting anything in return. Back in sixteen 56 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,640 Speaker 1: twenty one, for the first celebration, the Wampaag tribe not 57 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: only brought the food, but also teachings about agriculture and hunting. 58 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: In this new land. Things like corn, beans, wild rice, 59 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: and turkey were all introduced to the settler's Native Americans. Sadly, 60 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: just fifteen years later, as many as seven hundred Natives 61 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: were massacred by Europeans and warriors from other tribes who 62 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: are allied with the settlers. So how do Native Americans 63 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:18,239 Speaker 1: look at Thanksgiving? Now? They remember their ancestors, and despite 64 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: the day's complex origin, a lot of Natives get together 65 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 1: with friends and family to eat good food and to 66 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: give thanks And I love this. Some go to the 67 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: Thanksgiving Indigenous People's Sunrise Ceremony before daybreak on Alcatraz Island 68 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:38,720 Speaker 1: in San Francisco Bay. There they honor the strength, resilience, 69 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:43,280 Speaker 1: and cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples around the world. What 70 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 1: an amazing way to celebrate the day. Stephen Peters, a 71 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,720 Speaker 1: Wampa Noag tribe spokesman, explains his views on Thanksgiving and 72 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 1: has this to say. My ancestors had four harvest festivals 73 00:04:55,720 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: throughout the year. Gathering with family, enjoying our company, sharing 74 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 1: our blessings, and giving thanks is a good thing. I say. 75 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 1: Have more Thanksgiving events throughout the year. But I also 76 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: ask that you take a moment at this time to 77 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 1: remember what happened to my people and the history as 78 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: it was recorded, and not the narrative that we have 79 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: been given in the history books. So that perspective is 80 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: not about blame, but about appreciating and learning from this 81 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: complicated story. It's about understanding the beauty of our differences, 82 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: which will help us break down the barriers that divide us. 83 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: And it's also about taking a deeper look at the 84 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: many rich lessons we can all learn from the Native 85 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: American ability to live with and protect the amazing land 86 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 1: and resources that we share. Again, I want to thank 87 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,359 Speaker 1: listener Mark Chambers from mid Lothian, Virginia for suggesting this story. 88 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: Thank you, Mark. It's a beautiful thing to appreciate our 89 00:05:54,839 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: differences and our similarities. Hope you like the backstory with 90 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. I would love it if you would subscribe 91 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: or follow for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, 92 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 1: and feel free to DM me if you have a 93 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,559 Speaker 1: story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty 94 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. 95 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 1: The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis 96 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:30,160 Speaker 1: Duran Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. 97 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:34,040 Speaker 1: Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday 98 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,599 Speaker 1: and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with 99 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 1: comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty 100 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening 101 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history 102 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:49,279 Speaker 1: you didn't know you needed to know.