For the last 49 years on Thanksgiving Day, the United Indians of New England have observed a day of mourning in Plymouth, Mass.

I don't think a day of gratitude has to do with this.

I think we are focusing on all we need be grateful for.

I also think that this gathering is extraordinary.  We should never forget.  We should NEVER forget.

That said, if I were near such a service, I would honor it.  The fact that you brought it up, has allowed this truth to be something I will always remember to consider.

Thank you,
Stu

never heard of that

They need better publicity, Stu. Maybe you will help loosen things up...

I think Thanksgiving is a lot bigger for most people than the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock in the 17th century, and the traditional Native American position is lost in the static of national Holiday observances. 
But the English weren’t the first or only white intruders into the Americas; there are many dates Native Americans could single out to mourn.

Would that their ancestors have just slaughtered the invading Europeans, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
I for one, respect their grief. 

This post was edited by Don Barzini at November 18, 2022 6:39 AM MST

I think I mentioned to you in another thread that I make a point of trying to learn about other cultures and try to see what certain people might view things much differently than me. It's because of this that I recently watched John Leguizamo's Latin History for Morons, a stand-up comedy routine on Netflix. It gets pretty raunchy and vulgar; not for the faint of heart, but oh my word, was it good. He obviously addressed it from a comedic standpoint, but he injected genuine Latin and Native American history into it, including the darker sides of things. I seriously recommend that everyone watch it. Even if you think you know history, watch it. 

The short version is that we learn white man's history in schools. It's purely what we focus on in this country. There is more of an effort to address minorities now, but we're very hesitant to promote any kind of truth that doesn't paint white people in a good light. Like our ancestors were saviors who came to the states and saved the savages from themselves. No. The early settlers were horrific. They decimated populations. They raped, pillaged, and plundered. They committed horrific acts. Our textbooks and the history we promote does not really touch on this at all. I don't know whether it's fear of being painted in a bad light that causes the disconnect or whether it's because the population is largely ignorant of how history really played out. 

Equally, I think Columbus day is different. Renaming it drew more of a following because there's evidence that others beat him here. The motion to change the day only picked up steam because the day could be denounced without acknowledging the uglier truths. 

I would equate how the New England group observes it to how we look at 9/11. A tragedy that resulted in loss of life. However, most Americans have the version where Indians and Pilgrims joined together at one table and shared their meal in a day of union and peace. The latter would be cause for celebration, so it's no wonder people do. It's no surprise they take the day to be grateful for what they have. Anything else; to allow any other thought process in, would require a total shift of consciousness. We're just not ready for that yet. And, I do think we should take a day to celebrate what we're thankful for, but at the same time, I think we should shift the narrative. Even in knowing the truth behind it, I have no idea what that would look like. Do we have two separate days? Do we have one, but integrate a moment of silence into it or something? How do we show respect and honor our traditions too? 

“Why is there not a bigger movement to rename the holiday as we've seen with Columbus Day?”

  I believe Thanksgiving Day and the myriad of things associated with it is far too ingrained in our national “DNA” for a name-change to take place.
~

Understandable. I wasn't aware of the tradition.

Giving thanks has nothing to do with honoring a foreign invader 'discovering' a place that already existed. That would be my guess as to why there's not a movement to change the name.