Ivan F. Star Comes Out
The hidden realities of Thanksgiving Day
By Ivan F. Star Comes Out November 1, 1777, President Henry Laurens of the Continental Congress signed the First National Thanksgiving Proclamation. The third Thursday of December was set aside “for solemn thanksgiving and praise.” This date has been changed several times but the ideology underlying this holiday has been reinforced by various Presidents and congresses. So it is today that on the fourth Thursday in November, America takes time to give thanks to “Almighty God for all his blessings and mercies throughout the year.” As a Lakota youth in a religion-based boarding school, I was heavily exposed to this doctrine. At the same time, I always felt a confusing sense of alienation since this Christian-based belief seemed to apply to citizens of European origin only. I was virtually raised in that boarding school so the idea of expressing gratitude to a Christian Deity became embedded in my consciousness. My youthful mind had been immersed in predisposed portrayals and principles of that “first thanksgiving.” I still recall that time in the late 1980s when I learned that this holiday is shrouded in myth. I felt relief but was also embarrassed for having been deceived.
Read the rest of the story on the all new Native Sun News website: The hidden realities of Thanksgiving Day (Ivan F. Star Comes Out, POB 147, Oglala, SD 57764; (605) 867-2448; mato_nasula2@outlook.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
Join the Conversation
