Can a diverse America meaningfully embrace Thanksgiving in its traditional form?

Working in homeless services through countless years of Thanksgiving dinners has left me empty of any celebratory sympathy for the false traditions that surround Thanksgiving. I don’t believe for one minute that the “First Thanksgiving” was a sunlit banquet of settlers and Native Americans enjoying turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie at the table of friendship. I understand the reason why the mythology of Thanksgiving has developed: supporting manifest destiny and creating an ethical framework for European American expansion. I just don’t like this quasi meaningful excuse of a holiday which has become a vehicle for creating consumer demand and white washing the reality of history

Can we add meaning to the holiday, or discover its universal roots as a harvest celebration? Can it be a celebration of the sacrifices that others make for our own benefit, and a ritual of confession for the things we take for our own selfish gain?

I know that you are screaming for relief at this point, hoping I will redeem my sad and harsh criticism of Thanksgiving with enthusiasm for its positive meaning. For whatever reason I can’t. Instead I leave you with a link to the work of Contemporary Native American Artist, Fritz Scholder. My prayer is that you will take the opportunity this Thanksgiving to remember our Native American brothers and sisters, and allow your life to be enriched by their culture and spirit during this harvest celebration. Another suggestion is the movie Smoke Signals, because it is deeply meaningful and laugh out loud funny.Dare I say, Happy Thanksgivin.

Image: Fritz Scholder "Indian Contemplating Columbus" 1992, Currently on Display at the National Museum of the American Indian.