Thoughts on Thanksgiving

Bebonang said:
Don't you think that most of the politicians including Abraham Lincoln like all of the past presidents before him are not telling the truth at all? They lied a lot about us being savages and killing white people and all the stories that the public society read about in the newspapers or the paperback stories (to make the whites believe everything the government and the newspapers said). :nono:
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just wondering - was there an indian tribe that was very savage? a warring type that butchered people and collected people's scalp?
 
Reba said:
"...after Confederation...."
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Yes Reba, the reasons for celebrating before Confederation were quite varied and not generally taught. However, as varied as they were, they were still a dedication of time to give thanks for specific events or situations. The specific year of Thanksgiving for the Princes recovery was obviously one such event which none of us really learned (as with the others). Sorry if I was too brief and did not make my point clear in my post. What I was basically pointing out is that, to the majority of Canadians, the origin of Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks for health, happiness, an abundant harvest and for all that we receive in the way of blessings - and that, yes, the exact historical start of some things are simply unknown to many of us.

I hope that makes things a little clearer. If not, blame it on my turkey tryptophan-induced mental coma :giggle: .
 
one thing I want to refer to <there's a lot for me to think of here but one thing sticks out > -here's part of the issue:

"....Unlike the American tradition of remembering Pilgrims and settling in the... "
-taken as a part from Journey's post -

Europeans didn't "settle". That's too benign and part of the myth of the "West" and the "discovery" of North America.
 
:wave:and there's no personal attack here, just referring to a specific phrase -
 
Jiro said:
just wondering - was there an indian tribe that was very savage? a warring type that butchered people and collected people's scalp?
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Some of them, yes. Would it surprise you to know that settlers and colonists also scalped or offer rewards for native scalps? Even those of children.

Scalping - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

During Queen Anne's War, by 1703, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was offering $60 for each native scalp.[7] During Dummer's War (c. 1721–1725), British colonial authorities offered £100 per Indian scalp – which adjusted for inflation would be about US $20,000 (£14,000) in present-day money. Ranger John Lovewell is known to have conducted scalp-hunting expeditions, the most famous happening in New Hampshire on 25 Feb 1725.

During King Georges War, in response to repeated massacres of British families by the French and their native allies, Governor of Massachusetts William Shirley reluctantly issued a bounty for the scalps of Indian men, women, and children (1744).[8]

During Father Le Loutre's War and the French and Indian War in Nova Scotia and Acadia, French colonists offered payments to Indians for British scalps.[9] In 1749, British Governor Edward Cornwallis offered payment to New England Rangers for Indian scalps. Both the Mi'kmaq people and the British killed combatants and non-combatants (i.e., women, children and infants). During the French and Indian War, Governor of Nova Scotia Charles Lawrence also offered a reward for male Mi'kmaq scalps in 1756.[10]
Indian Warrior with Scalp, 1789, by Barlow.

During the French and Indian War, in June 12, 1755, Lieutenant Governor Spencer Phips of Massachusetts Bay colony was offering a bounty of 40 pounds (again, a unit of currency) for a male Indian scalp, and 20 pounds for scalps of females or of children under 12 years old.[11] In 1756, Pennsylvania Governor Morris, in his Declaration of War against the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) people, offered "130 Pieces of Eight [a type of coin], for the Scalp of Every Male Indian Enemy, above the Age of Twelve Years," and "50 Pieces of Eight for the Scalp of Every Indian Woman, produced as evidence of their being killed."[12]
 
DeafCaroline said:
Some of them, yes.
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ah - then that's what some stories were about when they described Indians as savage bunch. I do know that lot of other tribes are peaceful.

rest of your post is not important because it's not pertinent to my question nor an answer to my question.
 
Jiro said:
ah - then that's what some stories were about when they described Indians as savage bunch. I do know that lot of other tribes are peaceful.

rest of your post is not important because it's not pertinent to my question nor an answer to my question.
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ok.
 
dogmom said:
:wave:and there's no personal attack here, just referring to a specific phrase -
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No worries, but I appreciate the post :). However, I am not sure what you mean by "Europeans didn't settle". How are you defining "settlers"?
 
To be fair and to balance this thread, I'd like to point out that there were also great periods when the colonist and Native Americans got along well.

The proclamation is only about the establishment of the holiday and to make the nation heal from the Civil War not the event itself. Before it was established, days of thanksgiving were common among the colonist for religious and harvest reason and Native Americans as well celebrated the harvest, it is the reason the thanksgiving dinner happened.

I would rather see the holiday bring people together than separate people.

I don't think anyone doubts the injustice that was done to Native Americans, but you have to also look into the specifics too. Native-Americans alined themselves with the British during the war of 1812, obviously, that didn't go over well.

I do wish a lot of things that happened in American History didn't happen and I think we would be an even stronger nation if things were done differently. It may be an unrealistic view, but it is one I believe. Sadly, a deaf guy from Boston doesn't get to make those decisions.
 
“Thanksgiving”- a National Day of Mourning



Native American call Thanksgiving Day 'A National Dog of Mourning.'



I think Thanksgiving Day is a big lie! And I hate when you are asked to say what you've thankful for when I know the Native American where not thankful
about the White man coming here! My daugther use to come home from school and tell me her teacher told the class room how 'horrible the Native American treated White man. The same teacher told the class room that African like to play baseball because they're Black and tall!! WTF!!
 
whatdidyousay! said:
“Thanksgiving”- a National Day of Mourning



Native American call Thanksgiving Day 'A National Dog of Mourning.'



I think Thanksgiving Day is a big lie! And I hate when you are asked to say what you've thankful for when I know the Native American where not thankful
about the White man coming here! My daugther use to come home from school and tell me her teacher told the class room how 'horrible the Native American treated White man. The same teacher told the class room that African like to play baseball because they're Black and tall!! WTF!!
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Baseball? Don't you mean basketball? Just a small nitpick here.

Anyway, your daughter's teacher sounds like someone who has put on blinders regarding our actual history and she sounds like a racist too.
 
Too much here is posted about after the first Thanksgiving. Lets get straight to the reason for the first Thanksgiving. The Colonist were not experience enough to raise a corp in those days, I'm not saying they were not farmers but that their methods were not comparable to the Natives. The Natives could have just ignored the Colonist and we all know the first winter would bring many deaths to the Colonist. However, the Natives shared their knowledge (i.e. put a dead fish in the hole when planting) and also taught the Colonist hunting tips. For all this help, and surely salvation, the Colonist offered thanks to the Natives. The most important aspect was that the Natives, seeing what the Colonist were doing, contributed to the feast. Bless their hearts!
 
Hmm, I understood Bebobang's point...I just thought Thanksigivng as an old tradition and get family together and nothing more. I do not give two shits about Columbus Day.
 
deafskeptic said:
Baseball? Don't you mean basketball? Just a small nitpick here.

Anyway, your daughter's teacher sounds like someone who has put on blinders regarding our actual history and she sounds like a racist too.
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Yeah I meant basketball , but I can't correct it! There is no edit button!!
Yeah I agree she did sound like a racist! I was really upset when my daughter told me this!
 
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