Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving/Day of Mourning

Thanksgiving in my family has always been a time, some years the only time, when most of us come together and spend time with each other. This, and that this all revolves around food, has made it my favorite holiday for a very long time.

The Thanksgiving Mythology has never played a big role in this family celebration.

Though elementary school was a different matter...

These days I still love my family holiday but I also feel more and more that there is a political element to the very fact that the holiday exists that I do not want to ignore. That I can't ignore.

I haven't figured out, yet, what this means for me, or what practical steps I want to take to reconcile the two meanings of the day. The last few years it has meant a engaging in purposeful mindfulness of these two meanings. And so to that end I thought I would post this link, "illuminating Native heritage through photography," which I got via Cecelia. And my political spirit is with those at Plymouth in their Day of Mourning.

This year I will be focusing my energy both in looking to the truth of the past, being grateful for my present and on hope for a better future; where we do not deny or hide our past but acknowledge it and do everything we can to make sure we correct things so that tomorrow is better than today.