Turkey Day Vs Thanksgiving

I had no idea there was a debate on what to call Thanksgiving until I read this letter to Dear Abby http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucda/2008111...numberisnolady Second letter. Granted, the first is a lot more interesting. )

How do you weigh in on the whole Happy Turkey Day vs Happy Thanksgiving issue?



Like I say, I didn't know there was a debate that's how out of touch I am. My whole issue with Thanksgiving is how to protray it in a realistic and favorable light to the Iroquios people. The Iroquios people did not live in tepees and build totem poles. These I see the representation of the Native Americans as sort of just generally native american instead of uniquely Iroquios as a dumbing down of the holiday.

I never considered calling Thanksgiving - Turkey Day. I know some people do, but to me it would be like calling Easter "Bunny Day", Valentine's "Heart Day" or St. Patrick's Day "Leprecon Day". It's name is Thanksgiving, so that's what I call it.

Re: Turkey Day Vs Thanksgiving

That's my whole point really. They would not have survived without the Iroquios people helping out and teaching them things on how to survive in the new world. Besides almost every culture has some sort of a Harvest fesitval. To me, what makes ours (and Canada's) unique is the celebration of two vastly different cultures. So I want to celebrate both cultures equally.

Re: Turkey Day Vs Thanksgiving

Actually, the Iroquios people specifically were democratic. We owe a lot of our system of government to the Iroquios people. Sure, other European cultures at one time or another had democracy. But our forefathers and mothers lived here. They saw how the Iroquios lived everyday and they liked what they saw. A lot of government and ways of thinking about government are based on the Iroquios way not the European way.

Also, the Native Americans had very advanced medical technology. In fact, I think it was contact with Native Americans which changed our whole way of thinking about medicine. I think (and this is just my theory) that the Europeans believed they lived or died at the will of god and there wasn't a whole lot a person could or even should do about that. Obviously, Native Americans and several other groups thought differently about that. I think one of the reasons the US and Canada lead the world in medical science in many ways is our innate ability to accept or at least consider ideas which were not "born" here. Obviously, not everyone in medical science thinks this way, but enough are willing to think "outside the box" to make a huge difference.

And this is because of our early contact with Native American healers. Because the European man often did go to the Shaman instead of a European doctor. Why? Because you had a good chance of actually living if you went to the Shaman. The contribution of Native American healers to the success of our European ancestors and to medical science cannot be under estimated.

So Native Americans have contributed greatly to our culture, our science, our way of thinking and our way of life. And I want to celebrate that with my kids (while also letting them know how this worked out the the Native Americans).

Here is a little video about Jamestown and the "starving times". The Native Americans in the Virginia area did not save the white man in this case. So you can show this to your mom, Jennifer.

http://www.pbs.org/saf/1203/video/watchonline.htm

Since I can trace my ancestors to Jamestown 1607, not Plymouth, and my ancestors literally had to dig up their dead to eat to survive, I'm not that nuts about the whole "pilgram" thing either.