BLeaflet | Issues 1 - 7

Vol. 1, Issue 3

November 2023

THE BLEAFLET SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE Giving Back to the Earth

Perspective: Indigenous Peoples and Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, the Sustainability Committee has provided the following tips to appreciate and support indegenous peoples: • Research the history of the land where you live and check out this interactive map to see which indigenous lands you live on: Native Land Map • Consider learning history from local Native nations near you. Locally owned bookstores ran by indigenous people could be a good place to start to hear their stories and histories. • Understand a Land Acknowledgement: “It is important to understand the longstanding history that has brought you to reside on the land, and to seek to understand your place within that history. Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense, or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process, and we need to build our mindfulness of our present participation.”– Northwestern University. Check out these tips for creating an indigenous land acknowledgement statement as a starting point: A guide to Indigenous land acknowledgment - Native Governance Center • Consider visiting museums that include Indigenous history and culture. There are various online resources as well, such as: National Museum of the American Indian • Consider learning from Indegenous food knowledge to connect with the local environment and recognize indigenous contributions. See this online kitchen that incorporates indigenous food: IndigiKitchen • Appreciate the beautiful melting pot that America is and respect other religions/beliefs that also have holidays during this time. 1. Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations: American Indian Perspective on Thanksgiving https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/resources/American Indian-Perspectives-on-Thanksgiving 2. Harvest Ceremony-Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/resources/Harvest Ceremony 3. Land Acknowledgment https://www.northwestern.edu/native-american-and indigenous-peoples/about/Land%20Acknowledgement. html 4. Thanksgiving Food Waste https://sustainable.umn.edu/thanksgiving 5. Food Wast Reduction Tips EPA Encourages Americans to Avoid Food Waste Over the Holidays 6. Why Thanksgiving is Also a National Day of Mourning https://blog.nativehope.org/what-does-thanksgiving-mean to-native-americans#:~:text=Organized%20by%20the%20 United%20American,day%20of%20mourning%20on%20 Thanksgiving Learn more here:

This Thanksgiving, we invite you to spend some time brushing up on the history of this quintessentially American holiday. November is Native American Heritage Month, and Thanksgiving is a good time to acknowledge both the importance of respecting the land and the value it holds in Native American cultures. Often, the first Thanksgiving generically portrayed as a friendly harvest festival where Pilgrims and a group of “Indians” came together give thanks over a meal after the settlers survived a hard first year in a land new to them. Although Native American people have always given thanks for the world around them, the Thanksgiving celebrated today is more a combination of Puritan religious practices and the European festival called Harvest Home, which then grew to encompass Native foods. According to historians, the 1621 assembly of the Wampanoag Peoples and the English settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts had much more to do with political alliances, diplomacy, and a pursuit of peace. The Wampanoag were a people with a sophisticated society who had occupied the region for thousands of years. They had their own government, religious and philosophical beliefs, knowledge system, and culture. When the English decided to establish a colony in the area around Cape Cod in the 1600s, the Wampanoag already had a deep understanding of their environment and maintained a reciprocal relationship with the world around them. As successful hunters, farmers, and fishermen who shared their foods and techniques, they helped the colonists survive in a strange new place.

Regarding sustainability, many Native Americans believe that as long as humans are respectful caretakers of the natural world, it will provide for us. Traditionally, being a responsible caretaker in this type of mutual relationship has meant respecting nature’s gifts by taking only what is necessary and making good use of everything that is harvested. This helps ensure that natural resources, including foods, will be sustainable for the future. Early cooperation and respect between the two groups were short-lived, however, as conflicting perspectives emerged. By 1675 the relationship had degenerated into one of conflict and war. This would be the history of most relationships between Natives and non-Natives for the next two hundred years. Ultimately, Native encounters with Europeans resulted in the loss of entire Native communities, traditional ways of life, indigenous knowledge, and access to foods that had sustained Native people for thousands of years. War, genocide, disease, dispossession of lands, and ill-conceived federal policies profoundly affected American Indian communities and their environments. The consequences are still felt today. For this reason, the holiday is also officially recognized as National Day of Mourning and has been observed by groups of Indigenous people and their allies since 1970. The day of mourning and protest commemorates the arrival of settlers in North America and the centuries of oppression and genocide that followed. This year marks the 54th Annual National Day of Mourning gathering at 12:00 noon on Cole’s Hill (above Plymouth Rock), Plymouth, MA on November 23, 2023.