Reflections on Thanksgiving

As a Mexican-American Mestiza and to honor my Indigenous blood and culture, I feel compelled to express my feelings about the Thanksgiving Holiday which has been celebrated since 1621. On this day, we honor the Pilgrims landing in Plymouth, Mass., without making reference to the kindness and compassion of the Indigenous people who shared their food with the new immigrants in order to save them from starvation. As far as I know, no one has ever thanked the Indigenous people for saving the English separatists from following in the footsteps of their earlier countrymen who had died of hunger during a cold Virginia winter a few years back.
The Indigenous Peoples of this continent are totally responsible for the whole MENU of this holiday: Corn bread, turkey, pumpkins, cranberries and potatoes. None of these items were known in England. Knowing that and ignoring its origins and the circumstances that made it possible for the Pilgrims to survive, seriously bothers me. As I have never heard and I am sure neither have you, THANKED the Indigenous People for having given all of us these delicacies we enjoy at our Thanksgiving table.
The fact that this kind historical deed done by our Indigenous ancestors whose roots and presence in this American Continent goes back 3000 years before the common era, still goes unrecognized and unappreciated by the majority of U.S. citizens, as it should be, shows a lack of gratitude hard to imagine. As we partake of the meal, we should remember that it was the scientific knowledge of the cosmos, of the climate and the soil that led to the cultivation of what they called The Three Graces, referring to the way we plant corn, beans and squash. They knew that the staff of the corn would not bend or break with the strong winds if it was wrapped by the bean’s vine and that the squash would prevent the soil from erosion when the rainstorms hit it as it crawls over the soil and keeps it in place.
These agricultural scientific practices shared by all Indigenous Peoples of this continent, gives them the grains and food needed to survive the rest of the year as they grow, mature and are harvested in the summer. It is no wonder that the Indigenous Folklore believes humans were made from soil, mixed with corn and the blood of the gods. MAIZE is one of the grains that have made all civilizations and cultures possible. The others being millet, wheat and rice.
We evoke the humanity and kindness of the American Indigenous Peoples and the witness what happened when the European separatists after learning to identify, cultivate and reproduce the food that we eat today on this day, decided that their institutions would be strictly for them and that the “Noble Savage” would be separated and excluded from all decisions regarding their project of colonization. And as we say, the rest is history but this does not end here. We will write other pieces on this subject.
In the meantime, fully enjoy the Thanksgiving Dinner but DO NOT FORGET WHOM TO THANK