Thanksgiving – A Holiday with Deep Worldwide Customs but Not Indigenous Native American

Each year I have the daunting task of assisting my school aged children with projects that revolve around Thanksgiving and Native Americans.  And this year was no different.  The lesson of giving thanks for our food on one day each year defies what we Indigenous teach in our home.  We give thanks for every meal, and we give thanks all day long; for everything in the day, including waking each day, food, family, and life in general.

Yes, we celebrate Thanksgiving just as all families; and have done so for many generations, however, it was taught to us by the early churches along with Christmas, Easter, and many other holidays.

We as an Indigenous culture have never really associated this holiday with our ancient traditions.  We continue to have quiet little customs that define our local community and when these customs are considered; we find that these little things still take place many hundreds of years later.

Let’s first consider that there are over 500 Indigenous “Tribes” with many thousands of offspring that we call communities.  A community being many generations, from great-grandparents to children and that could consist of a few hundred in just one family!  In our community, we have one of our oldest traditions that get confused with the holiday of Thanksgiving.

The Big House gathering which took place many times a year, and lasted 12 days, including one in the fall during the harvest of late summer foods, was a way of life.  Some would travel to the coast and bring..........................read more at:

  http://www.theindigenousway.com/indigenous-way-news.html

Don't miss the great picture at the end of the story!