Thanksgiving...

...or, "Why my class will not be making feathered headdresses this week."

As a teacher, I made a commitment early in my graduate studies to teach "nothing that is wrong." This particularly applies to history, as most of what my generation was raised to believe as historical "fact" is nothing more than Anglo-Saxon/Christian/male tainted accounts of what actually occurred. Rarely are children taught the "real" version of history, or even that there ARE diverse accounts of our nation's (and the world's) historical events. This is never more true than in the case of Thanksgiving.

As a child, I grew up hearing the traditional account of the "pilgrims'" first harvest feast, complete with sweet Squanto, abundant food, and peaceful relations between the new settlers and the Native Americans. We made "Indian" vests out of paper bags, paraded in headdresses, and acted out the pleasure of the indigenous people as they were invited to share in the pilgrim's bounty.

Ha. Ha. Hahahahahahaha.

All this was well-intentioned, I am sure. Sometimes, if the teacher was REAL liberal, we even read a Native American poem or two about the earth. This was a more well-rounded, balanced approach to teaching about Thanksgiving, you see.

Well, times have changed. This Thanksgiving, in my school, we are not celebrating the European's encroachment onto the Wampanoag's land. We are not celebrating the 95% of all Native's who were wiped out by smallpox and other forms of European biological warfare. We are not celebrating the fact that those in power have altered these peoples' story and that millions of children grew up with a skewed and dangerous view of history.

Instead, in my class, we are talking about Stone Soup. We are talking about how alone, we have little, but together, we can feed us all. We are talking about distribution of resources, sharing, and how to confront selfishness and greed. We are talking about bread, and families, and how each culture has something to offer one another. And yes, we are thinking about what we are Thankful for, with no mention of "Indians" and pilgrims.

If you are a teacher, or a parent, please read the resources below before your next Thanksgiving re-telling. Question what and how you are celebrating. We have much to be thankful for, but how are we introducing that concept to our children? Are we using an archaic, false and skewed tale at the expense of real history? Who is hurt by this perpetuating myth? Is there a way you can introduce Thanksgiving (the true story) and encourage children to have a reflective, grateful heart without glorifying what was essentially the beginning of genocide?

1. Oyate.org – Deconstructing the Myths of Thanksgiving: http://www.oyate.org/resources.html

2. Resource to find out about the indigenous people that lived here before colonization: http://www.native-languages.org/states.htm

3. Kids FAQ about Native Americans: http://www.native-languages.org/kidfaq.htm#1

4. A great list of children’s books (organized by age) : http://www.native-languages.org/children-books.htm

5. Rethinking Our Schools: Myths and Misgivings: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/24_01/24_01_thanksgiving.shtml

6. Webquest on the first Thanksgiving (this gives a more accurate, balanced approach without highlighting the violence between the Wampanoag's and Europeans. http://www.plimoth.org/education/olc/index_js2.html#