Are Native Americans Offened by "Thanksgiving"?

[keysersoze]

Are Native Americans Offened by "Thanksgiving"?

I never really to give much thought to Thanksgiving other than an opportunity for family to get together but are Native Americans offended by this holiday?

I don't recall the whole Pilgrims story but I do know that the descendants of the American Pilgrims eventually ended up depriving the American's indigenous peoples their lands and pushed them on to reservations.

To now turn around after centuries of land-grabbing and celebrate the first American colonist and know what generations after them did to the Native Amerincan people - kinda makes me wonder if I'd really have anything to be "thankful" about if I was Native American.

I might be offended by it if anything since Americans go on as if its all good - pass the turkey & cranberry sauce with the sweet potato pie.

 

[ronmch20]

Ever since I learned that many "native americans" owned black slaves too, I couldn't care less if they are offended or anythng else.

 

[keysersoze]

Ever since I learned that many "native americans" owned black slaves too, I couldn't care less if they are offended or anythng else.

Where did you read that?

In fact, that seems contrary to how Native Americans viewed property: that one cannot really own property (slaves were defined as property interests). I can see it in terms of prisoners of war but not the same as European type slavery. I think many Native Americans were also enslaved as well.

I know for a fact that many Native American tribes accepted runaway slaves into their communities.

 

[Ksnake]

Ever since I learned that many "native americans" owned black slaves too, I couldn't care less if they are offended or anythng else.

Be careful on that one because their were Natives "enslaving" Africans in order to give them freedom. Im to lazy to look up the accounts but their were a great amount, Of course you do also have Natives who were bad apples and exploiting Africans but good chance they were owned by a bigger force which was the Whites. It was presumed if a Native had white blood they usually get a pass but are still assumed as Native, so the question is, are they truly still of their Native culture. Something about they could only own so many slaves and they were still indebted to the government as a Native American in the USA.

But besides from that, you should take a look a that way of thinking, its dangerous to me. Unfortunately every "race" has its good amount of close minded dumb asses.

I have no clue though if Native Americans are offended or not. Fuck, as a one of African heritage, i should be annoyed of damn near every holiday that made the USA.

 

[keysersoze]

With regards to slavery and Native Americans, I think you can't generalize there. You cannot talk about millions of Native Americans who had nothing to do with Slavery and in fact were enslaved themselves compared to a handful of Native Americans who just had a few thousand slaves.

For instance, here an account of ALL the black slaves held:

By the time the Civil War broke out more than eight thousand blacks were enslaved in Indian Territory, where they comprised 14 percent of the population.
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/S/SL003.html

Do the math.

8,000 African American slaves held by all the combined Native American tribes versus over 4,000,000 African American slaves held whites.

Now look at what "slavery" is defined as pertaining to the Seminole nation.

The laws and customs governing slavery differed in each nation, but the Seminole had the most distinctive form of involuntary servitude. In Florida the Seminole had acquired from five hundred to one thousand slaves by harboring runaways from white and Creek masters and by seizing slaves from whites and Indians. Before and after removal from Florida black slaves in the Seminole Nation were allowed to live and labor on their own, and they were obligated only to provide an annual tribute of food to their masters. Many historians refer to these blacks as "maroons," meaning escaped slaves who lived in their own communities. Many blacks, however, intermarried with Seminole, and some black men acquired positions of leadership and authority in the nation. After removal, both Indian and white slaveholders blamed the Seminole for encouraging and assisting runaway and rebellious slaves in Indian Territory.

Would you consider the Seminole Nation engaging "slavery" as the slavery of white southerners? Obligating the Florida blacks to "provide an annual tribute of food to their masters" - I'm just justifying this type of "slavery" but that seems more like than paying your taxes to me the the type of slavery under white southerners.

 

[QueEx]

`

new year; same question.

Offended ? ? ?

`

 

[QueEx]

 

[BlackStar6870]

Fuck thanksgiving

 

[BigLa190]

Everyone has made good points; however, current day native Americans have indeed adopted that poisonous mind state of "Institutional Racism". Which many non blacks that are here in the Americas tend to adopt. And some tribes actually did own slaves. While some gave food, clothing, and shelter to run away slaves. Also there is a current situation in North Carolina where the Native Americans are denying black Indians their rights as being part native Americans. We all know that a large percentage of our people from the south have Native American blood in the veins! Whether it be Cherokee or Blackfoot its fact.
In conclusion, Native Americans obviously have their own agenda that doesn't include people of African descent. So it really shouldn't be a concern of our community if Thanksgiving does bother them. Native Americans don't care about our dilemma the least bit.