Happy Thanksgiving!
I am so thankful for all the amazing friends I've made throughout the blogosphere. I'm thankful for the ability to view the world through your words and through your photos. I am thankful that I am free to keep this blog and live my life basically as I choose.
Today I hope people will take a moment to view Thanksgiving through the eyes of the Native Americans and not the Pilgrims.
The Native people who were displaced from their homes and massacred all in the name of Manifest Destiny and "religious freedom".
While I always take time to count my blessings and give thanks on this "holiday" I also try to think honestly about the Native people of this beautiful country and remember them today in my thoughts and prayers. I hope you will, too.
(Clearly I did not take these photos. I found them via Google Images and they are of the Salish & Kootenai tribes.)
4 comments:
I do wish I could take pictures like the first one. Or more like yours.
Did you read the Things that White People Do blog (I think I'm getting the name wrong, but you know which I mean) on this same subject?
While I agree that it is nice to use Thanksgiving to take a moment to be thankful, it is also very, very important not to forget what really happened. I think the problem is the fact that the 'history' is still such a big part of the holiday...
Ext- I am really enjoying the addition of your photos to your blog. One of the things I love about keeping a photography blog is going back to the beginning and seeing how I keep improving.
I did read the blog at What White People Do. It's such a good blog anyway, but I was especially pleased at the Thanksgiving post. My family, my brothers & I especially, have really decided to make an effort to bring up this "uncomfortable truth" during Thanksgiving for the past few years. My family lives on the Reservation of the Confederated Tribes of the Kootenai and Salish in Polson & Ronan, Montana. My daughter was born there as well. I saw first hand how beautiful their culture is and also how much damage has been done to them. There are a handful of people who are doing amazing works there, but they are fighting an uphill battle against poverty, drug and alcohol addiction. It's so sad.
Thanks for your comment. That first photo is beautiful isn't it? She is such a little cutie. I hope she grew up to be a wise and respected elder in her community.
I feel lucky to have met so many wonderful people in the blogosphere too:)
Happy New Year!... thanks for your support in 2009 - Much love from London
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