Bullshit, Decolonizing Thanksgiving Cannot Be Repurposed, Like Old Furniture

Thanksgiving, by any other name, is still a tragedy.

Preceding Thanksgiving, many were discussing immigration issues under the Trump administration, especially the hypocrisy. I saw the editorial cartoon above and was reminded of a former president's stand on immigration - Woodrow Wilson, "We came to America, either ourselves or in persons of our ancestors, to better the ideals of men, to make them see finer things than they had seen before, to get rid of things that divide & to make sure of the things that unite." 

This country is so divided, at this time, especially by the racism of this POTUS and his administration. His fearmongering comments about the migrant caravan from South America, travelling to the United States, doing just as Wilson stated, for the betters ideals of men, seeking asylum, seeking a better way of life. Yet, Trump, who is the son of German and Scottish immigrants, fears people of color, so he race baits, dog whistles, embarrassing this country in the news and on social media.

He went so far before the 2018 Midterm Election, that he had 5,200 active duty troops deployed to the US-Mexico border - a stunt to fearmonger to his base. Trump, without facts or evidence, claimed bad people started the caravan, that a big percentage were criminals, he also lied there were Middle Easterners in the caravan, made up mostly of Hondurans. Yet, after the election, he, Fox News, his base, were quiet about the "dangerous migrant caravan". Media and individuals began to question the obvious silence and decry his action as a political stunt to sway the election.

 "Critics of the Trump administration have accused the president of using military

resources as political chess pieces, along with heated rhetoric, in the lead-up to last

week's midterm elections in an effort to stir concern over caravans of

asylum-seeking migrants headed for the U.S. as a dangerous 'invasion.' "

Then today, this day of "Thanksgiving", Trump stated, 

"'If we find that it's uncontrollable, if we find it gets to a level where we are going

to lose control or where people are going to start getting hurt, we will close entry

into the country for a period of time until we can get it under control.'

He added he would shut down 'the whole border … I mean, the whole border.'

Trump said he wants Mexico to do its part to secure the 2,000-mile border 

that stretches from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas.

'We are either going to have a border, or we’re not.

When they lose control of the border on the Mexico side, we just close the border.'"

On Twitter, I was disappointed this morning when a respected progressive, independent news source, which normally runs articles on equality, civil rights, etc., ran an article on the growing number of Americans opting out of Thanksgiving, saying not to trash it, but simply to "decolonize" it. Their reasoning was, that yeah, there is fabrication of the whole pilgrim thing, a pilgrim myth,  "But we don’t have to reject the holiday completely. We can, and should, decolonize, and reinterpret it."
They closed their article suggesting, "As we enter into this holiday, let’s acknowledge the movement of decolonization and re-education happening in our country. We can observe and celebrate with our families in ways that honor those who the day originally dishonored, and those who continue to struggle under oppression."


I say bullshit. Decolonizing Thanksgiving cannot be repurposed like you do old furniture or clothes. We are not merely talking about a Pilgrim myth of sharing a meal during hard times, with gracious Native Americans who helped them out.

Thanksgiving's roots are in Native American massacres by the land greedy European colonists, using biblical sanctions and then gathering to give thanks for the victories.

About 10 years ago I read an academic article on the true origins of  Thanksgiving. I am a critical thinker, I don't believe everything I read. The article had footnotes, which I did look up and the source quotes were accurate and in context. From that point on, I have not celebrated Thanksgiving, because I can't celebrate murder, theft and slavery.

Unfortunately, I can't find the original saved article, but Professor Jamie Oxendine, a Native American author, of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, did a beautiful write up - A More Accurate Historical Thanksgiving -What Are You Celebrating?


Below are a few excerpts from his article:

"Like most of our history, it comes from miss-history and the fact that most people think of the Pilgrims as these 'incredibly righteous people' that invited the 'savage Indians' to their first Thanksgiving so that the 'savages' would not starve. This is incorrect history and information.
Here is a more accurate historical Thanksgiving account...

The peace settlement between this first colony of Puritans and the Wampanoag People meant that the Puritans were to have 15 years to establish a firm colony. By 1629 there were no more than 300 Puritans in present day New England in small and isolated communities.

This survival prompted a wave of Puritans that soon established growing settlements north of Plymouth in Boston and Salem. Over the next 10 years the wave of Puritans greatly increased.
Soon the Puritans begin to discuss “…the legal ownership of the land.” At this time Governor John Winthrop declared the “Indians had not subdued the land” and therefore all uncultivated land should be public domain according to English Common Law.

In other words this meant that the land belonged to the King of England. Thus the colonists decided that they did not need to consult with the Natives and that the land was theirs for the taking. As far as they were concerned they only had to inform the representative of the crown and that was the local governor...

A company of Puritans led by Miles Standish actively sought out the head of a local chief. They eventually accomplished this gruesome trophy when they beheaded the Native Leader Wituwamat. The head was displayed on a wooded post in the Town Square of Plymouth.

On May 26, 1637 a force of Puritans attacked about 700 Pequot People near the mouth of the Mystic River at Groton, Connecticut. The Pequots had gathered for their Annual Green Corn Dance.  During the gathering they were surrounded and attacked by the English and the Dutch. The Natives were ordered from the Gathering Building and as they came forth they were shot down and cut up. The rest were burned alive in the building.

The English Captain John Mason and Commander John Underhill attacked the camp with the words

"…fire, sword, blunderbuss, and tomahawk….” They also added that “…to see them {Indians} frying in the fire, and the streams of their blood quenching the same and the stench was horrible, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice to the great delight to the Pilgrims and they gave praise thereof to God.” The next day, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared: “A day of Thanksgiving, thanking God that they had eliminated over 700 men, women and children.”

A second Pequot Village was attacked, massacred and destroyed on June 5, 1637 near present-day Stonington and a third Pequot Village was attacked, massacred and destroyed on July 28, 1637 near present day Fairfield."

More tribe massacres follow, including bounties, scalping, mutilations, torture and slavery for some female and child survivors.

Oxendine continues with the 2nd Thanksgiving Day proclamation:
"By 1675 Massachusetts and surrounding colonies were in an all out war with the Wampanoag People. The Wampanoag leader Metacomet (called King Phillip by the white man) grew angrier as he watched the steady destruction of his culture and his people. He was forced to strike out with raids on several isolated towns for food.

Captain Benjamin Church tracked down and killed Metacomet. His body was drawn and quartered and the parts as Captain Church said were '…left for the wolves.' Metacomet’s hands were cut off and sent to Boston for display and his head was sent to Plymouth where it was set upon a pike on the newly declared Thanksgiving Day of 1675. Metacomet’s son was to be killed because the Puritans proclaimed that '…the offspring of the Devil must pay for the sins of their father.' Instead, he was sold to a slave ship bound for the Caribbean.

On June 20, 1676 the Puritans governing council held a meeting to determine of a way to in their own words; '…express thanks for the victories in War with the Heathen Natives….' And from that moment they proclaimed June 29 as a Day of Thanksgiving. The celebration over the 'heathen Indians' became a major event and was celebrated semi-annually among the New Englanders and the early colonies for many, many years to come."

Oxendine shared the original language and spelling of the proclamation:


June 20, 1676:
“The Holy God having by a long and Continual Series of his Afflictive dispensations in and by the present Warr with the Heathen Natives of this land, written and brought to pass bitter things against his own Covenant people in this wilderness, yet so that we evidently discern that in the midst of his judgements he hath remembered mercy, having remembered his Footstool in the day of his sore displeasure against us for our sins, with many singular Intimations of his Fatherly Compassion, and regard; reserving many of our Towns from Desolation Threatened, and attempted by the Enemy, and giving us especially of late with many of our Confederates many signal Advantages against them, without such Disadvantage to ourselves as formerly we have been sensible of, if it be the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed, It certainly bespeaks our positive Thankfulness, when our Enemies are in any measure disappointed or destroyed; and fearing the Lord should take notice under so many Intimations of his returning mercy, we should be found an Insensible people, as not standing before Him with Thanksgiving, as well as lading him with our Complaints in the time of pressing Afflictions:
The Council has thought meet to appoint and set apart the 29th day of this instant June, as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour, many Particulars of which mercy might be Instanced, but we doubt not those who are sensible of God's Afflictions, have been as diligent to espy him returning to us; and that the Lord may behold us as a People offering Praise and thereby glorifying Him; the Council doth commend it to the Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being perswaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and soulds as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ.”


While I am into sustainability, repurposing and reusing, these land thefts, massacres and atrocities of Native Americans, along with the White revisionist history, should not be sterilized, decolonized or made palatable in any fucking way, to make it socially acceptable, perpetuating a national day of "Thanksgiving".

Just as we, as a nation, have finally had the courage to remove numerous Confederate memorials celebrating black slavery, across this country not just in the South, we should have the moral courage to admit and address the history of Thanksgiving Day, removing it from its pedastal as a place of honor, for there is nothing honorable in it.