Genocide Celebration

As November zooms by and Thanksgiving begins to peek around the corner, I wonder does anyone ever think about the people who have no reason to be thankful for this dreadful holiday. I have Native American blood dripping from both sides of my family tree, and I always feel just a little sick to my stomach this time of year. Had we not been so kind to those pale-skinned strangers, history may have taken quite a different turn, away from the senseless, cruel mass murder of a civilization. I wonder if the Pilgrims were contemplating the extermination of the Native American people as they dined on turkeys and maize; the ultimate example of biting the hand that feeds you. Did they find humor or irony in the moment, knowing they would bring death to the people that were helping them live.
I often wonder how it is that we celebrate this holiday every year without giving a moment's notice to the fact that the day we call Thanksgiving wasn't a day of thanks for everyone. Would our country be so great without it's history of land stolen from massacred Native Americans and free labor forced upon stolen Africans? What has our country given to what is left of this generous people; where is their holiday? At least freed slaves were supposed to get 40 acres and a mule; did anyone even think to apologize or even simply thank the Native Americans for their amazing contribution to our country.

Dead presidents have a day, veterans have a day, mother's, father's, Jesus and Martin Luther King Jr. have a day.... when do the true Americans get a day to celebrate their life? I hope you all think about that as you celebrate their death.