Thanksgiving Myth Conceals Massacre, Says Indigenous Journalist
New America Media, Q&A, Interview by Peter Micek, Posted: Nov 23, 2006
Editor's Note: Sundust Teocuauhtli Martinez is the executive director and co-host of Native Voice TV, a nonprofit news program in San Jose, Calif. He spoke to NAM writer Pete Micek about the Indian history behind Thanksgiving.
NAM: Does Thanksgiving resonate with meaning for Native Americans?
Sundust: It does. But the story of the pilgrims and Indians having dinner, and sitting down together is not true. The Pequot had a festival to welcome in the new harvest. At that point, the pilgrims came over and ambushed and slaughtered them. The next day the pilgrims went to church and gave thanks to God for the food and success. That's how Thanksgiving started.
NAM: How did the popular myth about Thanksgiving get perpetuated?
Sundust: It was portrayed by the government and mainstream media authorized it. I think a lot of things contributed [to the myth]. People think, 'It makes money, sounds good, smells good -- let's keep promoting it.' I'm sure if a lot of people knew what happened they would think about it in a different way.
NAM: Did native people have a fall festival before the pilgrims arrived?
Sundust: They had a harvest festival. Traditional people dedicate their harvest to the gods or their people. Each has a different thing: 'I'm thanking the creator,' and ‘Appreciate what you have and spread your wealth, rather than hoarding and selling everything.' In tribal beliefs, it's almost a socialist type of society. No one is richer or poorer than anyone else.
NAM: How do you get the word out about the real Thanksgiving story?
Sundust: We have an anti-Thanksgiving every year. There is also a ceremony on Alcatraz.
NAM: What happens on Alcatraz?
Sundust: Anti-Thanksgiving goers on Alcatraz Island on Thanksgiving Day every year have a sunrise ceremony, a tribute to the past. It's been going on for a while. You leave around 4 a.m., take the ride, and catch the morning ceremony. A lot of non-native people catch it as well, which is good. It's not part of what I organize but it's something I support.
NAM: What is your tribal background?
Sundust: I am Pascua Yaqui and Papago, from Tucson, Ariz.
NAM: Was the Papago an Aztec tribe?
Sundust: The Aztec started in Wisconsin, and came through Colorado. Most tribes in the southwest are pseudo-Aztec, like if you go to Europe, there's Spanish, Italian, German--if you know one language you can get around, and understand a little bit. The Northern Lakota and Dakota have a different way of speaking. Typically, the Yaqui fought against the Spanish. The Spanish never took them over. After they started getting weaker, the Mexicans kidnapped some and took them south to the Yucatan.
You've heard the saying "The borders crossed us." With the Pima, and Apache, it's the same thing. We're all indigenous people, so the borders should not apply to us.
NAM: How did you get your name?
Sundust: Most Indians have a clan name, and a tribal name. My first name "Sundust" is our family clan. If you typed it into Google, you would find many people with my first name as their last name. Me and my sister were born in San Jose, the rest of our siblings in Tucson.
In the 1950s and 60s, there was a relocation program, with two phases. In the first, they dump you off at a predetermined site, with no resources, and no education. It was pretty bad. In the second phase, they gave you job training, a little bit better. That's how we got to San Jose.
NAM: What do you do?
Sundust: I have a TV show, am on the Indigenous Peoples Council and the Independent Police Auditor Advisory Committee and run a winter solstice ceremony. Our TV show started about three years ago. Our intention was to educate Indians about Indians because we have a bunch of different tribes that don't know much about each other, about their food, the holocaust, and things that happened to each other. The other thing is to unify all the nations and get away from this stereotypical term, “Native Americans," which is used instead of indigenous, a much broader term. And if you're united it's harder to break a big group than a small group.
We are going to do a little bit on our show, as we do every year, about Thanksgiving and how this lie has been perpetuated. I work with a lot of Caucasians. I tell them the story. It's up to them what they want to do with it, if they want to participate in this tradition. If they don't, they don't.
NAM: Do you have contact with other ethnic media?
Sundust: We work with local radio station KKUP's Indian Time radio show. Local newspaper El Observador, which is printed half in Spanish and half English, highlights indigenous events and has an indigenous calendar and information about our TV show.
Related Stories:
My First Thanksgiving in America
Native Americans Will Mourn Thanksgiving
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