1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:02,960 Speaker 1: Last year, a backstory listener said he would love to 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: hear another take on Thanksgiving. Mark Chambers from mid Lothian, 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,920 Speaker 1: Virginia suggested this story, and I think it's worth revisiting. 4 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: Here's the thing. Thanksgiving is not just an American expression 5 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: of appreciation for what we've been given. Gratitude is universal. 6 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:25,320 Speaker 1: For Native Americans. Thanksgiving is understandably a national day of mourning, 7 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: but it's also a day of giving thanks. How do 8 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: they express that? It's a little bit complicated. I'm Patty 9 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: Steele understanding the Native American perspective when it comes to Thanksgiving. 10 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back. We've 11 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: all just celebrated Thanksgiving, a day to celebrate gratitude. But 12 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,560 Speaker 1: backstory listener Mark Chambers from mid Lothian and Virginia had 13 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: an idea for a follow up episode to our Thanksgiving story. 14 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: Thank you, Mark. Of Americans, Thanksgiving is a day to 15 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: give thanks, but for many it's also considered a national 16 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 1: day of mourning. They mourn what was lost when Europeans 17 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: discovered I say that with air quotes their land and 18 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: these completely different cultures came together. It's a story that's 19 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:21,399 Speaker 1: been romanticized over these four hundred years, and the beginnings 20 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: aren't really as romantic as we think. The Friday following 21 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: Thanksgiving is Native American Heritage Day, so it's really important 22 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:33,119 Speaker 1: to remember that North America and for that matter, South 23 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 1: America weren't just vast empty land masses when Europeans arrived. 24 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: North America alone was home to somewhere between five and 25 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: ten million Native Americans, hard to tell with so many 26 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: different tribes. By the way, the English settlers who arrived 27 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: in sixteen twenty weren't actually called pilgrims until the mid 28 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds, over two hundred years after their arrival here. 29 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 1: But by the time they did arrive, the presence of 30 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: Europeans was already having a disastrous effect on the Native 31 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: American population, introducing illnesses like smallpox to tribes they interacted with, 32 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: and it was really disastrous to the Native way of life. 33 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 1: Now here's the thing. The concept of land ownership just 34 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,239 Speaker 1: wasn't part of their culture, and it was totally part 35 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,679 Speaker 1: of European culture. So right there you kind of see 36 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: room for misunderstanding on both sides. Native Americans had tribal 37 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:32,119 Speaker 1: hunting grounds, but that was not the same as land ownership. 38 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: Some of them were welcoming to the newcomers, believing that 39 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 1: they were simply allowing them to share the land, which 40 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: they believed made good political sense in dealing with these 41 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 1: new people. But the Europeans believed they were taking the 42 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: land either for nothing or just a pittance when it 43 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: came to the financial aspects. Can you imagine what it 44 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: must feel like to have two completely different perspectives about 45 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: something so important to how you and your people live 46 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: your life today. A lot of Native Americans see Thanksgiving 47 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: as a painful reminder of the colonization and displacement that 48 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: followed the arrival of Europeans, and a lot of these 49 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: tribal communities see Thanksgiving as a day to acknowledge that 50 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: painful history and remember their ancestors. Some actually prefer not 51 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: to even recognize the day at all, but it's really 52 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: nuanced from individual to individual. Some choose to embrace the 53 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: positive messages of the day while remembering its complex history. 54 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 1: Why because the idea of giving thanks is central to 55 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: Native American heritage and culture. In fact, long before settlers 56 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: got here, tribes celebrated the autumn harvest and Mother Earth's 57 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: abundance with days of thanksgiving and gratitude. Native American spirituality 58 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: celebrates gratitude for creation, protecting the environment, and also recognizing 59 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: the human need to commune with nature. Thanksgiving as a 60 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: holiday actually originates from the Native American belief in giving 61 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: without expecting anything in return. Back in sixteen twenty one, 62 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: for the first celebration, the Wampa Noag tribe not only 63 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 1: brought the food, but also teachings about agriculture and hunting 64 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: in this new land. Things like corn beans, wild rice, 65 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: and turkey were all introduced to the settlers by Native Americans. Sadly, 66 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,720 Speaker 1: just fifteen years later, as many as seven hundred Natives 67 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: were massacred by Europeans and warriors from other tribes who 68 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,480 Speaker 1: are allied with the settlers. So how do Native Americans 69 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: look at Thanksgiving now? They remember their ancestors, and despite 70 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: the day's complex origin, a lot of Natives get together 71 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: with friends and family to eat good food and to 72 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: give thanks and I love this. Some go to the 73 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: Thanksgiving Indigenous People's Sunrise Ceremony before daybreak on Alcatraz Island 74 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: in San Francisco. There they honor the strength, resilience and 75 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: cultural heritage of indigenous peoples around the world. What an 76 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:12,480 Speaker 1: amazing way to celebrate the day. Stephen Peters, a Wampa 77 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 1: Noagg tribe spokesman, explains his views on Thanksgiving and has 78 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 1: this to say. My ancestors had four harvest festivals throughout 79 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: the year. Gathering with family, enjoying our company, sharing our blessings, 80 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: and giving thanks is a good thing. I say have 81 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: more Thanksgiving events throughout the year, but I also ask 82 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: that you take a moment at this time to remember 83 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: what happened to my people and the history as it 84 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,559 Speaker 1: was recorded and not the narrative that we've been given 85 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: in the history books. So that perspective is not about blame, 86 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: but about appreciating and learning from this complicated story. It's 87 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: about understanding the beauty of our differences, which will help 88 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:58,280 Speaker 1: us break down the barriers that divide us. And it's 89 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: also about taking a deeper lookook at the many rich 90 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 1: lessons we can all learn from the Native American ability 91 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:09,039 Speaker 1: to live with and protect the amazing land and resources 92 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 1: that we share. Again, I want to thank listener Mark 93 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:16,799 Speaker 1: Chambers from mid Lothian, Virginia for suggesting this story. Thank you, Mark. 94 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 1: It's a beautiful thing. To appreciate our differences and our similarities. 95 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: Hope you like the Backstory with Patty Steele. I would 96 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,359 Speaker 1: love it if you would subscribe or follow for free 97 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: to get new episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to 98 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 1: dm me if you have a story you'd like me 99 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram 100 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:45,480 Speaker 1: Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production 101 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: of iHeartMedia, Premieer Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel 102 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 1: Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. 103 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free 104 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 1: to reach out to me with comments and even story 105 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:04,360 Speaker 1: suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook 106 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the Backstory with 107 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. The pieces of history you didn't know you 108 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: needed to know.