Progressive Wednesday

Thankfully, the Thanksgiving tribe gets recognized. In other words, we’re very, very, very sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

America has done almost all it can to systematically and cavalierly destroy (something we’re troublingly good at) Native American traditions, reservations, and the rights of sovereign Native nations. I’m not sure, if we look back through our shared history, if we could have done much more harm.

I grew up less than a mile from a Tuscarora reservation, and my mother teaches in a public school district with an elementary school on the same reservation. In short, Indian culture is a big part of my slice of Niagara county. Nonetheless, I’ll make an admission: I don’t know nearly enough about the rich history, religious beliefs, and traditions of the folks who were loving and living on this land before Plymouth Rock caused a cultural and political sea change of Tsunami proportions.

On February 15th, I came across this:

the U.S. government on Thursday officially recognized the American Indians whose ancestors met the British Pilgrim settlers at Plymouth Rock in 1620. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts…held the first Thanksgiving meal with the European settlers.

It’s the U.S. Understatement of the Year* to say that this is meal they probably wouldn’t be wrong to regret. I’m not sure we need more evidence that we’re slow to do what’s right by this section of our fellow Americans, minorities only because of the rest of us.

You can learn more about Native nations by following the following links:

• You can read engaging and interesting articles at the Native Peoples Magazine online.
• You can check out an online museum of Native American Indians.
• You can view art created by Native Americans.

Photo snapped by this photo snapper.

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* We regret to say that this isn’t a real award. It should be. Previous contemporary winners would include:

• “The ’85 Bears have a shot at winning the Super Bowl.”
• “Oprah who?”
• “Maybe Nixon was lying.”