Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday growing up. For my family, it was purely about being together, reflecting on the year, and giving thanks. And I think that is a beautiful thing. However, like how relationships between people change over time, my relationship with Thanksgiving has changed. And over the past few years, my relationship with Thanksgiving has become a bit strained. My relationship strain comes in many forms, but primarily from learning more about Indigenous history of Turtle Island. I grew up thinking Thanksgiving was a time when Pilgrims and Indians shared a beautiful, peaceful meal. Like how everyone is invited and included in our family Thanksgiving dinner. However, this is only part of the story. Like many historical events, a single perspective has dominated the narrative, only capturing part of the perspectives. Here are two resources for learning more 1. All My Relations Podcast Episode ThanksTaking or ThanksGiving 2. NPR article The Indigenous Stories Glossed Over In The Typical ʻFirst Thanksgiving’ Story One new tradition I have added to celebrating Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month is reading theHaudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address. I first read the Thanksgiving Address in Braiding Sweetgrass - yes, back to Braiding Sweetgrass :). The address has many names and has been summarized in over 40 languages! Dr. Kimmerer shared while the heart of the Thanksgiving Address is gratitude, the address is also a scientific inventory of the natural world. Acknowledging and giving thanks for each element of the ecosystem and each element’s function. Dr. Kimmerer asks us to imagine raising children in a culture with gratitude as the priority and recognizing that everything we need to sustain life is found in nature. The Thanksgiving Address shifts minds from a scarcity perspective to a recognition of abundance. And Dr. Kimmerer adds, “That[gratitude, abundance, reciprocity, and respectful mindset]’s good medicine for land and people alike.” The Haudenosaunee, from whom the Thanksgiving Address originates and who share their words as gifts, have a long history as master negotiators and diplomats. Dr. Kimmerer writes, “Most everyone knows the tension that squeezes your jaw before a difficult conversation or a meeting that is bound to be contentious.” Every time I read that line that feeling runs through my body. I know that strain. I know that feeling of being ready to fight. But then imagine, before debating or reacting to situations, all parties give the Thanksgiving Address. Asking everyone to join their minds as one for the many gifts of the world. You can imagine how tensions and strain begin to release and common ground is found before diving into the disagreement at hand. For any relationship with strain (between people or organizations or with holidays or within ourselves), we share what we are grateful for and seek some common foundations. I share these thoughts this November to share a gift that was shared with me. I am not Haudenosaunee. I am not Indigenous to the places I have called and call home. Yet I strive to be a respectful and welcomed guest, neighbor, and ally. Perhaps if more people know and practice the Thanksgiving Address, all of our relationships will be stronger and healthier. A few places I’ve called home over the years that I am grateful for.
p.s. an update from Hawai‘i Island. Today is Lā Kūʻokoʻa (Hawaiian Independence Day) and Maunaloa, one of the five shield volcanoes comprising the island and the volcano I live and work on, is erupting for the first time in 38 years, exciting days!
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AuthorI started this blog as part of my Botany In Action Fellowship through Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens Archives
June 2023
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