In a moving speech given by escaped slave Frederick Douglass on July 5th, 1852 (a portion of which is read by Morgan Freeman below), the question is asked, “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?” Here is part of his answer:
[The Fourth of July] is a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. . . . Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the old world, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without rival.
Douglass’ words can also be applied, I would suggest, to the day which we will celebrate tomorrow, thus changing the question from “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?” to “What, to the American Indian, is your Thanksgiving?”
I would like to offer a few points by way of personal reflection, if I may. First and most obviously, as Americans we have much for which to be thankful: our nation, our democratic form of government, our health, our wealth, and our families are but a few reasons for which we ought to be filled with gratitude, not just on Thanksgiving, but every day.
But with that said, I cannot help but think that there’s something not quite right about my attitude of thankfulness being simple, unmitigated, and unmixed. There’s a certain solemnity that must be mingled with it. Even a sense of shame. I mean, the blessings of nation and property for which we will be giving thanks tomorrow didn’t just drop out of the sky like manna from heaven. They had to be won. They had to be taken. They had to be stolen.
Francis Jennings writes of Capt. John Mason’s attack on a Pequot village on the Mystic River near Long Island:
Mason proposed to avoid attacking Pequot warriors, which would have overtaxed his unseasoned, unreliable troops. Battle, as such, was not his purpose. Battle is only one of the ways to destroy an enemy’s will to fight. Massacre can accomplish the same end with less risk, and Mason had determined that massacre would be his objective.
The terror was very real among the Indians, but in time they came to meditate upon its foundations. They drew three lessons from the Pequot War: (1) that the Englishmen’s most solemn pledge would be broken whenever obligation conflicted with advantage; (2) that the English way of war had no limit of scruple or mercy; and (3) that weapons of Indian making were almost useless against weapons of European manufacture. These lessons the Indians took to heart.
Chief Luther Standing Bear, in his 1933 autobiography, From the Land of the Spotted Eagle, wrote:
True, the white man brought great change. But the varied fruits of his civilization, though highly colored and inviting, are sickening and deadening. And if it be the part of civilization to maim, rob, and thwart, then what is progress?
I am going to venture that the man who sat on the ground in his tepee meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures, and acknowledging unity with the universe of things, was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization. . . .
It is beyond dispute that the gains we enjoy and for which we are thankful were ill-gotten. They are the result of ruthless and shameful warfare waged upon the native peoples of this land, and for this reason, I cannot help but mingle with my gratitude regret.
A further issue — one much more tricky — also arises for me: If I’m to be thankful on Thanksgiving Day, to whom am I to direct that thanks? The obvious answer for many is “God.” But I must confess that I struggle with this. While many would insist that God is the ultimate source of all blessings, is there a distinction to be made between what he allows and what he condones? In other words, does the notion that God presides over all things necessitate the conclusion that God approves of all that he oversees?
To come at this in a roundabout way, Is it right for the child of a jewel thief to thank God for his Xbox?
Sure, he may believe that it is God who is the ultimate Source of that gift (and he may be right), but that doesn’t change the fact that it was purchased with money gained through the hocking of stolen property. Is the child himself personally responsible for his father’s larceny? Of course not. And neither are we today personally responsible for the extermination of the Indians and the theft of their land. But if the child eventually learns where his Xbox came from, that knowledge cannot but taint his enjoyment of it a little (as well as stop his bragging to others about how great it is). And likewise with us and the blessings we have: there’s a sense of humility, of discomfort, and of unease that ought to linger in our minds and hover above our tables tomorrow.
Do we not owe Justice at least that much? Do we not owe at least that much to Love?
And as far as how exactly this should all be expressed, that’s a question each person must answer for him- or herself. I will say this much, though: Even a passing thought, a silent prayer, or a brief acknowledgement of the sacrifices that were made to make us all so thankful is hardly an unbearable burden or undue expectation.
After all, the ones who sacrificed the most for our American way of life weren’t even given a say in the matter.
[…] to overly confuse the two kingdoms (ahem), I would direct you over to Heavy for the Vintage where I published an article containing some personal reflections on the celebration of […]
At what point do you transition though? For example, my father was fired by his boss, and was bitter. He started his own business, and now he looks back and says that getting fired was the best thing that could’ve happened to him. So, does the black man in America now say, “Hey, I’m in the land of opportunity. Slavery in its day was a savage cruelty, but it’s the best thing that could’ve happened to me. Otherwise, I may be living in Somalia.” Similar transition may be felt by native Americans. Back to my dad… he’d always say, “It’s not so much your situation that matters, it’s how you think of your situation.” Be grateful, move ahead, and live your life so that YOU do not achieve by ill-gotten gain, nor treat others unfairly.
[…] Jason J. Stellman offers a refection on Thanksgiving that I will take to heart. […]
Hi Brian,
Thanks for the comment.
Couple thoughts: (1) I don’t think “getting fired” is a good analogy, since when you get fired you’re simply losing the benefits that come from a mutually agreed-upon, legal arrangement, whereas being killed and having your land stolen is quite different.
(2) I lived in Africa, and I am not convinced that the idea that “America is a better place to live for black people,” full stop, is something that doesn’t need to be proven, but can simply be assumed.
(3) Yes, I agree that no one should wallow in their misery for centuries. But my piece is not saying, “Keep wallowing in your misery, you Indians,” it’s saying, “Show just a modicum of acknowledgement and humility on Thanksgiving, you white people.”
You’re missing the point, is what I’m saying.
Jason, why all the guilt? Just do like Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel do with regards to injustices in their Church System: “Get a life!” “Get over it!” “Move on!” “Leave it to the Lord and leave us alone!” “You’re in the greater sin of Unforgiveness!” and “Touch not God’s anointed! God will zap you if you don’t shut up and go away!”
CC’s example: If you are the victim of a serious injustice, f**k off and leave us alone. Well, of course, you’re one of their pastors experiencing an injustice, then we need to move heaven and earth to bring justice.
Ha ha, gotta love the white man’s justice! And Alex, let’s not get derailed up in here. . . .
Jason, I am derailed….so if you want me to read and comment here you get what you get.
I think Pope Francis is off to a great start, BTW. He’s addressing injustices in his own Camp before pointing out the injustices in others (and in the World System).
Great example of good leadership so far, remarkably Good Jesus of the Gospels-like so far.
Jason, are you trying to bind my conscience? I tell my dad all the time (he was born and raised in Mexico and is not a US citizen) that I’m Thankful we stole California from the Mexicans. Had we not, San Diego would look like Tijuana and I really don’t want that.
I like this Alex guy. 🙂
Jacob,
Good point. We should just steal all places that look like TJ!
I would be down with that. I would call it “The Beautification Project”. Things would be so much better, not perfect, just better. I’m in search of a homogeneous world where everybody is a “piranha”. All that being said, I would seek to keep the “donkey show”.
Just so you know, Jake, the Beautification Project also involves breeding all the Mexicans out of existence. Except the Latinas. They can stay.
Word..I’m doing my part and married a white girl then had three daughters! Step one, we steal and bastardize their food and call it Chipotle or Rubios. Step two, we start to dominate them in soccer (refusing to call it futbol). Step three, total annihilation.
Well, my grandpa on my dad’s side was a bastard child of a rich white southern man and a 1/2 Cherokee woman in the Carolinas. I’m supposedly 1/16th native american so this Thanksgiving you white people can bite me….or if it will assuage your guilt you can send me some money or a bottle of booze or something.
The 15/16th white me (and especially the 1/4 Italian, he’s a real a-hole) just kicked the shit out of the indian. The rest of me apologizes for trying to prey on your white guilt.
We are the children of jewel thieves indeed! As American’s, we represent 5% of the world’s population, but we consume 25% of the worlds resources. I highly doubt God has anything to do with that. If anything, we should be complaining to God that he has allowed the greedy and violent to prosper at the expense of the poor and weak.
Ya, we consume 25% of the world’s resources alright. Ever been to Wally World and see how our “poor” live? Yikes! I think it’s a prerequisite to be at least a hundo overweight to get the Food Stamps.
On the other end we’ve got our Oligarchy and Corporate Robber Barons and their excess.
And, in the middle, the very consumeristic Middle Class.
70% of our economy is Consumer Spending.
We are a drunken, gluttonous, idolatrous selfish horde of mongrels.
VIva ‘Merica!
God bless the USA!!! (cue Ted Nugent guitar national anthem)
It’s a double-edged sword.
Remove the greed and consumerism of the good ‘ol US of A…and the World Economy tanks and we have a world-wide Depression and the Poor suffer the most….with the Middle Class getting wiped out…and the Uber-rich will stay uber-rich and simply buy up all the stuff on the cheap.
We can decry our greed and gluttony…but there are cause/effect macro-economic correlations that are much worse…unless the System Reset is done slowly and incrementally over time.
My thanksgiving, to the indian, is his casino. Can the son of a robbed jeweler be bitter even after the insurance claim pays the bill? Can an African immigrant decry segregation even after Obama sits in Washingtons Chair? The same winds blow on us all. All our ancestors have blood on their hands. Black. White. Red. Whatever. Nature is red in tooth and claw and none of us have escaped unblemished. If I stumble upon the gold of a murdered man i will still sell it with a smile on lips and the sunshine on my face. Will my kids feel guilty? Meh…..
Are we thankful for popes abducting Jewish boys?
Even if the stores are all closed, there is still no vacation from the “abducted Jewish boy raised by the Pope” stories.
Darryl,
The string on that guitar must be getting lonely by now. . . .
Im waiting to see who is donating their property and residence to the local tribe it was stolen from…what no takers, joust bloggers…
So Mike, a bit of acknowledgement is too much to ask from you? That’s all the post is asking for, not that we donate our houses to the local tribe (as you sarcastically suggest).
Jonathan–
Maybe you haven’t heard. The stores are NOT all closed. Thanksgiving is being called Gray Thursday, now, as more and more stores open earlier and earlier for the commercially sacred “Winter Holiday” season.
Jason–
For at least a couple of years around the original Thanksgiving, there was a period of trust and inter-reliance and integrity between the Plymouth Colony and the local Native Americans. It didn’t last. It didn’t extend to other tribes not allied to Squanto’s group. It didn’t involve anything close to actual respect and “social equality.”
But mightn’t today’s more noble “savages” celebrate a better time, a time of relative friendliness, be it ever so short? Some tribes these days–for example, the Seminoles of Florida–have a good relationship with the schools that use them as mascots. FSU might even win a National Championship this year! Perhaps we should make Thanksgiving back into a holiday that includes and involves and celebrates our Native brothers.
We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that–in spite of all the alcoholism and poverty and suicide these days on Reservations–many Native Americans are better off SPIRITUALLY than they were before your ancestors arrived (all my ancestors were still back in Scandinavia…they didn’t get here until the early twentieth century). Light was shed (though the jars were very, very, very cracked). The years of inter-tribal barbarity never included much sunshine and roses. The lovey-dovey, romantic, peaceful, pro-environment nature of Native religions has been overblown to the extent of becoming mostly myth.
Have you ever been on a Reservation? The squalor is enough to make one weep. We must do something to lift their burden. Out of sight, out of mind, has gone on far too long….