The View From Over the Hill: Thanksgiving in perspective

By Debbie Brown and Mona Halcomb

Perhaps one thing we “non-traditional students” have in our favor is perspective.  And if we have a second virtue, I would say it is, I hope, a lack of gullibility.  When I was in grade school and junior high in the 1960’s and early 70’s I was told the “story of Thanksgiving” every year, by my teachers at the religious school I attended, by my church, and by my parents.  I believed this story.  Swallowed it wholesale.  And why not?  Surely teachers, ministers, and parents knew what they were talking about.  I never once stopped to consider that maybe, just maybe, there could be a “downside” to one of my favorite family holidays.

In 1978 I started college at the UW Seattle (and wow!  I’m still here!).  I heard a very, very different Thanksgiving story.  And being young, rebellious, and finally free of my suffocating youth, I let the pendulum swing completely in the opposite direction.  For years I refused to celebrate Thanksgiving; I didn’t go to my parent’s or brother’s homes; I didn’t roast a turkey; I referred to it as “Thanks-taking.”

Now, at the ripe old age of 49, I am, perhaps, a bit wiser.  I enjoy the camaraderie of my family on this day, the only day of the year my whole family is together.  I’m a vegetarian, so I still don’t eat turkey, but I enjoy the rest of the meal.  We always start the meal by going around the table and saying what we are thankful for this year.   My brother and I argue about whether to watch the National Dog Show or the Cowboys game (I’ve only seen one National Dog Show in four years).   And we always watch the classic WKRP in Cincinnati episode, “Turkeys Away.”  (“As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!”)

So, then what to make of the Thanksgiving holiday?  I confess to still having a lot of “white guilt” on the whole matter.  But I also don’t want to write an article for our school newspaper that would cause someone to not be with their families on this day, because one thing I’ve learned with age is that families, no matter how dysfunctional, are really important.  And, despite my recent reputation on campus, I’m really not looking to stir up controversy.

When I find myself on the horns of a dilemma, I often turn to my friends for advice.  I couldn’t stop thinking about this column, so I got up in the middle of the night the other night and sent out an email to my classmate and friend, Mona Halcomb.  I told her of my problem and asked if she would be willing to help me write this column.  And oh yeah, I told her, this is really, really late to get this in to Sam (my editor) so I need it by tomorrow night.

Mona, in her always-gracious way, was happy to help me out, and so the rest of this column is what she wrote to me.  Thanks, Mona! And, by the way, Mona wrote to me, “Have A Happy Thanksgiving!” and so I feel good about saying the same to you, my UW Bothell family, “HAPPY THANKSGIVING!”

Mona Speaks:

As a Native American woman I introduce myself to my peers as, “My name is Mona Halcomb, Cayuse band, Shawoway family on my mother’s Suzanne Marie Barnett’s side and Aleut & Tlingit on my father’s Michael L. Stepetin side.”

As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, I am reminded of the complex history of this holiday. Often I am asked how I “feel” about Thanksgiving. The answer is, I am very thankful for the efforts of educators who work tirelessly to separate myth from truth in the stories that have been repeated so often they have become a national shared fable. It is my humble opinion that it is much easier to think of the Indians as “poor, uneducated, savages” that required salvation and assistance from the White man, than it is to reconcile the first contact as anything other than noble.

Contrary to popular belief, Puritans were not looking for religious freedom, they were political revolutionaries. One hundred and forty-three years before the American Revolution they declared themselves an independent confederacy. They did see themselves as the “Chosen Elect” and therefore wanted to get rid of anyone else who did not agree with their interpretation of scripture.

Squanto had a respect for the Pilgrims because of his relationship with John Weymouth, a British explorer. The Pilgrims wanted to befriend and invite the Indians in order to make a treaty to secure land. While the Indians may not have fully trusted the Pilgrims, their religious values stated they were to be hospitable to anyone who came with empty hands. Squanto stayed with the Pilgrims and taught them how to survive. He brought deer meat, showed them how to plant and which plants were poisonous. The Indians brought most of the food to the First Thanksgiving. Squanto being the only baptized Christian among the Wampanoag was seen as an instrument of God to be used in their view of Manifest Destiny. One generation later King Philip’s War would find children of that first Thanksgiving trying to kill each other.

I doubt that anyone at what is often referred to as “the first Thanksgiving” three hundred and eighty nine years ago could have imagined this America. The Pilgrims and Indians have been forever changed.  Native Americans are deeply patriotic which may seem ironic to some people that we would love this land and be willing to defend it.  My own father joined both the Army and the Navy.  Whenever Native Americans have a gathering we honor our Veterans.  I went to a Native American concert this past Friday night and during the middle of it a Veteran was called up and honored with a blanket and thanked for his service to our Country. The entire audience stood and applauded.

America was built by genocide and bloodshed from many people; and I am deeply committed to its survival so that the sacrifice of my people was not in vain. I am truly thankful to be an American. So, this Thanksgiving I’d like to challenge you to ask an eight year old about the first Thanksgiving and see if we are still echoing myths in our school system.  If so, I’d challenge you to become familiar with the “real Thanksgiving” story and next year you’ll be better prepared to share a story of survival, forgiveness, and thanksgiving that is more accurate.

NOTE: Mona sent me a long list of great resources that have been recommended by a local school system.  If you are interested in this list, please email me and I will be happy to forward it to you. -DB