Matthew 5:4 “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted”
I was born and raised in New Mexico, and because of this, I feel like I understand the Indigenous people a little more than the average American. I remember wondering why some of my classmates lived in “the dorms” and not at home with their families. I remember the Indigenous kids in my class getting giant contractor bags full of new clothes and school supplies each year and I always felt so jealous. I even remember driving across “the reservation” and not clearly understanding why it was all separate. Forced on reservations, most without running water or electricity. Living so far out from schools and other modern conveniences that they are forced to put their children in dormitories during the week to allow them to go to school. Most families so poor, the tribe provides these bags of clothing and supplies for the kids or they would not have. No, this isn’t the extent of my understanding, but for a child this was the reality of what is left of the native people around me. There are so many stories and historical references that I learned about and discovered in my time growing up. I can’t share them all, but the Indigenous people have a vast knowledge, understanding, history, and tradition that most people don’t get to understand, much less study in school.
Today is Thanksgiving. I have mixed emotions about this day. I LOVE the meaning behind coming together and celebrating the things we typically take for granted. I love reflecting over all the things that I am thankful for. Let’s get real…I love the food. Along with all this though, we have to think about what brought this holiday to our calendars and realize that it’s not a celebration for everyone. For so many Native Americans, this is a day of mourning. This is a day to remember the wars and deaths and loss of tradition and land. This is a day of remembering those that are gone.
I attempted to research the true history of Thanksgiving and it was never made clear exactly how the holiday started. There are actually several different times in our history when a large feast brought different people together to celebrate. The Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrim story is the one that most of us have always been taught, so focusing on that, I centered my research on the true story. It is clear that the Wampanoag tribe did help the Pilgrims, but out of fear and attempting to build a peace treaty to keep them out of the tribe’s land. The feast may have been a feast to celebrate this agreement of peace, but it didn’t last long. Within 2 years of the feast, the colonists had killed more than half of the tribe and taken over their lands. The Native American people were forced to flee, die, or be enslaved. As many of us know, as time went on, this narrative continued across America until it was decided to give the Native Tribes large masses of land to govern and live on. Today, Plymouth Rock houses a memorial for the tribe, and is visited each year at this time to hold a memorial tribute to those native people that were killed in these wars. There is no feast or celebration for these mourners. It’s a time of remembering and mourning.
The reality of our history is raw and painful. The reality of our world history is raw and painful. How do we as a nation go back and deal with these truths? We are a melting pot of culture and histories. The reality is the history of how we got here is vastly different for each of us. The history of how things have played out is vastly different for each of us. I always teach my kids, there are three sides to every story: your reality; their reality; and the true reality. When dealing with pain and suffering, we can’t take away your reality or “their” reality. We have to look at both and figure out a common ground to stand on. I hate the history of how we have all come together. I hate that my feast may cause pain for another. How do we bring our melting pot out of a boil and into a cooled state? How do we help heal history and move forward in love? My answer to this lies in Jesus, but I know thats not a truth for so many. I can say that I am thankful that I live in a country that I am able to seek truth and understanding. I am thankful that I am able to freely worship and pray to my God in heaven. I am thankful that I got to experience so many other cultures and truths growing up. I am thankful that I can teach my children how to look at both sides of everything and try to understand the walk others are walking. Last, I pray for those that are in mourning today that they can find peace and can be filled with the love of the Father in Heaven. As we gather as family today, I ask each of us take the time to remember and pray for our history and for those that are not celebrating today.
Mind Skipping 