Happy Thanksgiving. This year we celebrated thanksgiving in Cotuit, MA at my parents house. I spent many summers with my family at my grandfather’s house here in Cotuit learning to sail, exploring the sandy oak forest floor and the marvels of the ocean and Nantucket Sound.
Cotuit, and most areas of Eastern Massachusetts are the home of the Wampanoag people, who first greeted the pilgrims that landed in what is now Plymouth, MA. I remember meeting a Wampanoag man when I was a young boy. He was a friend of a friend and he took us “quahogging” or hunting for quahogs, which are a hard shell clam. I remember this adventure vividly, how he taught us to feel with our toes for the round hard shells, and how to hold our breath to dive and pull the quahogs from the silty bottom of the inlet.
When our toes told us a quahog was too small, we would leave it in the mud. I remember trying to hold my breath for as long as he could, and sometimes he would hold his breath for twice and even three times as long as me. When we had filled our baskets with quahogs he showed us how to take a small knife and firmly poke the tip into just the right spot on the side of the quahog and open the clam and slurp the salty treat inside.
I remember telling my mom later that day: “when I grow up, I want to be a Wampanoag…”
I did not know the history of the Wampanoag then, and yet like so many children in this country I grew up with the tradition of thanksgiving, a day of feasting with family and friends and practicing the act of thanksgiving. I found myself this week wondering what the Wampanoag people thought of the American tradition of Thanksgiving.
After some research this week I read a few interesting articles. I learned that Thanksgiving day is also the national day of mourning, and an event is held every year in Plymouth, MA. Reading through articles on what does thanksgiving mean to native americans, and the history and first national day of mourning I feel the anger and sorrow of the Wampanoag and other Native American people in my own body. However, even amid this sorrow is also a message and reminder of the power of giving thanks. In an interview Steven Peters, a Wampanoag Tribe spokesperson, was asked how he felt about most Americans celebrating Thanksgiving, he responded:
I think it’s great. My ancestors had 4 harvest festivals throughout the year. Gathering with family, enjoying our company, sharing our blessings and giving thanks for all that we have is a good thing. I say have more thanksgiving events throughout the year. I also ask that you take a moment on that day to remember what happened to my people and the history as it was recorded and not the narrative that we had been given in the history books. (Interview with more Q&A)
And so in our own small way I would like to remember the Wampanoag people, and all that has happened to them during the history of our country. I am also reminded of the history of farming, agriculture and the treatment of land by those who farm it. There are many causes that are important to all sorts of different people; and how can the perspective of a population shift? I believe that shift happens one perspective at a time.
Thank you for reading my words and supporting our farm in our mission towards food and health, and perhaps you will consider your perspective on a cause you had not considered before. I am thankful that we are capable of harnessing the power of learning and a change in perspective.
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