Reflection on Thanksgiving Day

My reflections today come from my thoughts after attending the Collins Lecture last week, especially as it collides with the myth we tell about the first Thanksgiving. Americans gather to give thanks on the Fourth Thursday of November but others in our land think about history and our ancestors differently.

"Indigenous Americans tend to see this living world as a fantastic and beautiful creation engendering extremely powerful feelings of thankfulness and indebtedness, obliging us to behave as if we are all related to one another. An overriding characteristic of Native North American religion is that of gratitude, a feeling of overwhelming love and thankfulness for the gifts of the Creator and the earth/universe. Perhaps the most important aspect of indigenous cosmic visions is the conception of creation as a living process, resulting in a living universe in which a kinship exists between all things. Thus the Creators are our family, our Grandparents or Parents, and all of their creations are children who, of necessity, are also our relations.

Above all else, Native American spirituality is a land-based spirituality. The relationship between the natural environment, all the creatures living within it and the people are one of mystical inter-dependence." (Johnny Reb)

Land based spirituality was integral to the land based cultures which were distinctive to the native people. There were about 1000 different tribes when the first contact was made between European explorers and the Americas. Each of these tribes was uniquely adapted to the place where they lived. Such is the way of land based cultures. So while we often refer generally to the American Indian, they were far from a mono-culture or religion.

Now the difference between a land based culture and an indigenous culture has to do with rootedness to the land. A culture without roots in a particular place can up and move at any time and wherever it lands it will adapt the place to its culture. So we can see in the USA. There is really one dominant culture that is seen regardless of the part of the country. It is quite remarkable, though there is wide variation in the landscape, the culture remains essentially the same. Sure there are a few variations, but for the most part it is the same. In hot parts of the landscape there are air conditioners and in cold places central heating – but the temperature does not determine the style of clothing inside the mono culture homes. Think about it! There is a standard home, standard food, standard transportation, standard education and standard leisure time activities.

There was a time when our ancestors in faith were nomads, they took their faith with them but they did not wander far outside the bio-region they were adapted to.

With the spread of Christianity through global conquest, the culture of the conquerors was imposed along with Christianity which had by that time become un-rooted to the land.

In scripture, luscious green land with flowing water is always the image of Paradise for the desert people who first held the writings as sacred. Those of us who live in such an earthly Paradise, have another task, and that is to protect and care for the land that has become our home - without inflicting damage to the land that is home for others.

This makes me think of the story of the Garden of Eden and how Adam and Eve were not content with Paradise. They were tempted to want more and I think that is the same for the dominant consumer culture that is spreading around the world.

In the dominant culture people give thanks for family and friends and for their homes and jobs and health – and all in all they are grateful not to be poor.

Indigenous people thanked God for life; for trees, and plants; for fish, birds and all animals. In their own natural setting, indigenous people were content with what they had and they showed their gratitude by tending the garden of their environment. Stripped from their land they became rootless, despondent and depressed. Many died.

On this Thanksgiving Day Weekend, I would invite all who read this, wherever you may be to begin or continue the task of becoming rooted in the place in which you live. Get to know the native plants and trees. Discover who lived on the land before you or your ancestors and gain from their knowledge of paradise on earth so that together we can preserve the Earth. Let all people from the dominant culture learn to live more simply so that our excess goods can go the people for whom they are necessities.

And let us all learn to live in gratitude. 

Giving thanks each day for life; for the beauty of the earth; for sky and wind and water; for the joy of creatures;  for the love of family and friends, and for all who are now a part of the place where you can now gather to give thanks and praise.