Native Americans talk about Thanksgiving Day
grimly and prefer to observe it as a 'National Day of Mourning' ever
since 1970. They believe that quite contrary to the popular belief,
Thanksgiving celebrated throughout America is not about rejoicing
and the day to show thankfulness but about the ungratefulness of the
first generation of pilgrims. One section of Americans say that it
should be observed in the grime and grave mood as if in mourning to
remember the unfavorable past incidents where the European colonists
and their descendants at Plymouth raged war against the Native
people, especially those who belonged to the Wampanoag tribe and
were led by the sachem Massasoit. These people think of the said
pilgrims as violent ingrates.
When the Wampanoag leader Frank James was invited to deliver a
speech at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, his referring to the
history of oppression and violence led to ignite anger in some
sections of America and was thus cut short by the Commonwealth. The
people termed it as subduing of a true Native voice and thus, they
protested the move by observing the Thanksgiving Day as the National
Day of Mourning. Still others prefer to view Thanksgiving as the
result of the reconciliation of communities with two opposing views
and dissolving of their conflicts and hatred.
