Looking Deeply at Thanksgiving

:This year’s National Day of Mourning will broadcast live beginning at noon on Nov. 25, 2021 with a combination of live-streaming from Plymouth MA and pre-recorded messages via:

• the United American Indians of New England (UAINE) website www.uaine.org
• the UAINE facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/UAINE and
• https://hate5six.com/ndom

An interactive Zoom workshop “Looking Deeply at Thanksgiving: The Journey to a new Thanksgiving built on justice & right relationship” took place on Thursday Nov 19, 2020.

Our Indigenous presenters helped us understand why many Native Americans consider Thanksgiving a Day of Mourning. 

Video of program https://youtu.be/x1Kx2ZwMPt0

• Indigenous presenters (on why ) were:
  Joan Tavares Avant (Mashpee Wampanoag) & Gail Melix (Manomet Wampanoag)
• Breakout groups reflected on what we had heard
• Panel discussion exploring ways to move forward together:
  The Indigenous presenters were joined by Rev. Kelly Gallagher (UCC) and Leslie Manning (Quakers)
  Transcript of Leslie’s talk https://bhfh.org/2020/11/20/rethinking-thanks-giving/

This program raised over $3500 in for the Native Land Conservancy to support Indigenous land rematriation http://www.nativelandconservancy.org   Donate now to NLC

Sponsors:

• 400 Years Project – 25 faith communities & community groups in Western Mass partnering to work together toward right relationship with Native peoples https://interfaithamherst.org/400-years
  Letter to Congregations: A Call to Re-imagine Thanksgiving 
  Land Acknowledgment for Northeast read during the Nov. 19th program 
• Justice & Witness Ministries of United Church of Christ, Southern New England Region looking at the world & prayerfully working to make it a better place (“God speaks to our hearts and minds”) https://www.macucc.org/changingourworld
  
• Beacon Hill Friends House – online opportunities for spiritual exploration and deepening & social action bhfh.org/virtual-events

Resources from our presenters & panelists

• From Joan Tavares Avant & Gail Melixd:
  National Day of Mourning (Nov. 26, 2020) organized by United American Indians of New England http://www.uaine.org/
  The Suppressed Speech of Wamsutta (Frank B.) James – delivered in Plymouth MA in 1970
  http://www.uaine.org/suppressed_speech.htm
• From Rev. Kelly Gallagher
  Repudiation of Doctrine of Discovery
  ucc.org/justice_racism_doctrine-of-discovery
• From Leslie Manning
  “Apology to Native Americans” – 2020 draft under consideration by Friends Meetings across New England neym.org/sites/default/files/2020-09/Apology.pdf
  Right Relationship Resource Group of New England Quakers
  neym.org/right-relationship-indigenous-peoples-resources-engagement
  Decolonizing Quakers decolonizingquakers.org/ 

Other resources about Thanksgiving:

• The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving – a novel by Larry Spotted Crow Mann
  video on book: https://youtu.be/YATDN9SlR2U
  30 min. conversation between Larry & Sen. Jo Comerford on the book https://youtu.be/wQHVSC3jYt8
  order copies (100% of receipts go to author & Native projects) 
  https://www.riseupandsing.org/mourning-road
• American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving from American Indian Museum https://americanindian.si.edu/sites/1/files/pdf/education/thanksgiving_poster.pdf
• Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address
  https://danceforallpeople.com/haudenosaunee-thanksgiving-address