Thanksgiving: the Holiday of a Rainbow Nation
Last modified on 2010-02-18 17:26:08 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
I woke up this morning thinking about America’s ethnic heritage, and how we’re the first nation in the world’s history to have melted a very large number of diverse ethnic groups into one body.
We are the most colorful lot on the planet. I saw us as a rainbow.
In a way, America has been like a test lab for examining whether or not the greater world stands a chance of ever becoming one. If America can do it, then so can other nations, and the world.
I’ve gone online to see if I could find any references to America being called The Rainbow Nation, as in a colorful spectacle of promise, but nothing came up.
I realize we haven’t reached our potential yet, but I think we’re doing pretty darn good, all considered. I hear the racial divide is still prevalent in the south, and I am also aware of the hate which some of Native America still harbors (and with good reason).
Yet, there are not a few of us now who appreciate the beauty in all the shades of our America. I want to believe that someday, somehow, we will come to fully adore the wonderful variety that we are, and that we have always been.
As Thanksgiving has long been touted the “All-American” holiday, I think it’s time to let Thanksgiving be a platform for telling the painful truth of all our history (not excluding the story of any ethnic group), and for looking heavenward to the promise of a clear and beautiful Rainbow Nation.
I am thankful to be an American. I am especially thankful to have been born at the tail end of this great American melting pot experience when I could see real racial unity make advances in popular thought, and in mainstream culture.
A rainbow. That’s what we are.
Music by DC Talk, Color People
Article by Carrie Franzwa, founder of the Reality Thanksgiving Revolution at www.IdeasThanksgiving.com.
Tags: ideas thanksgiving, a thanksgiving holiday, national thanksgiving holiday, thanksgiving message, a thanksgiving message, message for thanksgiving, messages for thanksgiving, thanksgiving article, ethnic and diversity, american racial, american prejudice, great american melting pot, thanksgiving for church
- – - – - – - – - – - -
Is the Race Card Overplayed in America?
Last modified on 2009-10-07 20:35:04 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
I am a white Belgian-American female out in the market place encouraging Americans to make our multi-cultural heritage a matter of Time Travel fun for Thanksgiving. The idea is creative and socially constructive, and certainly has the potential to facilitate greater cultural awareness across our diverse ethnic lines. Yet I have been accused of simply “Playing off the Race Card.”
It may surprise people to hear me say this, but I do see where the Race Card has been overplayed in America. The difference is that even though I’m as weary of hearing and seeing it as the next person, I fully understand and accept that it is our own fault, and we can end its play when we decide to achieve healthy conflict resolution through diplomacy, truthful history acknowledgment, constructive dialogue, and negotiation.
Just like in any relationship.
That would be enough said, except there are a couple more issues peculiar to American Indians that many of us do not realize…
Consider how that over the years the Race Card has predominantly dealt with our black–to–white relationship in America, leaving little room for American Indians to speak. It is almost as if they don’t exist unless they’re protesting something.
But there is a reason, or set of reasons for this:
For one, there are significantly fewer wealthy American Indians per capita than there are affluent African-Americans, and money buys voice. For two, the African-American population is actually a large force to be reckoned with at 12% of our population; American Indians represent only 1% of our population, with 40% of that 1% isolated on reservations.
It’s pretty easy to see, then, how American Indians could not possibly have had an adequate chance to participate in constructive dialogue over the years. Couple that with the negative backlash in public opinion which A.I.M. and other protest activities have spawned, and it is pretty easy to see how American Indians really do need a healthy outlet, which the Race Card can sometimes still provide (and certainly should provide on Thanksgiving).
We must let this card play; and if I am guilty, then I am guilty with good reason.
Even though you and I may be tired of the Race Card, and we don’t particularly like the difficult process of conflict resolution, demanding that minorities shut up and put up is an unhealthy, counter-productive approach that only keeps the card in play indefinitely.
If you would like to offer a constructive counter view, or a supportive comment on this issue, please come join our Facebook.com discussion group, American History & Interracial Hope.
# # #
Article by Carrie Franzwa, author of The American Patriot’s Treasury of Historical Thanksgiving Dinner ideas, and founder of the Reality Thanksgiving Revolution
Tags: playing race card, diversity card, racism card, multicultural forum, multicultural article, multicultural network, native facts, native american voice
- – - – - – - – - – - -
Native American Heritage Day act 2009; a Thanksgiving Message
Last modified on 2010-02-18 17:24:41 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
A special Thanksgiving message of welcome for Native American Heritage Day. Offers an optimistic look at how the new federally recognized observance will impact American society and Thanksgiving traditions, both public and private.
As the great crucible of American history now welcomes the relief of cool-down, we begin to see more clearly what is really left after the chaos of rapid boil. As the Bunsen of raw emotion and survival instinct dies away, we are finally freed to analyze our very personal lab results. Whether individual analysis is honest or not, no other American holiday holds more potential for healthy retrospect of the great social experiment that we are than our beloved Thanksgiving.
Touted the “All-American” holiday almost from its inception in 1863, the notion went unchallenged until the mid 1900’s. As an avid Thanksgiving history and living history enthusiast I can knowledgeably own and admit that the modern challenge has been warranted: our traditional holiday observance has been Euro-centric to a fault, however unwitting the intention.
Slow as we may be to embrace it, America has been, and still is a melting pot of racial and cultural diversity. And since our very constitution declares all men are created equal, in only makes sense that in time we would allow our real history and early cultural mix to be included in our “All-American” Thanksgiving observances.
Which is why I am so supportive of our new federally recognized holiday, Native American Heritage Day, which will follow on the day after Thanksgiving annually from this year forward.
From my personal perspective as a voluntary student of history, I view this calendar addition as a catalyst for bringing Americans up to date where our Thanksgiving traditions are concerned. Where some have hotly argued the origins and history with our Native Peoples, this new observance assures American Indians will get a calm and unfettered chance at the holiday mic.
As a result I anticipate over time that Native American Heritage Day will actually help facilitate the mellowing of our animosities by diminishing the need for protest. As it becomes an increasingly friendly and constructive platform for cultural exchange with our Native Peoples, I cannot imagine anything but a collective move toward healthy history analysis and resulting adjustment to holiday observances.
So it is with a unique sense of holiday thanks-giving this year that I offer my deepest congratulations to Frank Suniga who worked tirelessly for eight years to get the new holiday on the calendar; and I send warmest congratulations to all of Native America – I look forward to talking with you more, to learning about you, and to dispelling the myths that have hindered our American mindset. We will all be the better for this welcome holiday addition.
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -
Carrie Franzwa is the founder of America’s Thanksgiving Time Travel alternative, and author of seven K-8 education titles. Together with her family she teaches Thanksgiving living history as an at-home holiday hobby through books, public demonstrations, and through her website at http://ideasthanksgiving.com
[Permission is granted for reproduction of this article so long as full credits are included.]
- – - – - – - – - – - -
Saving the Aboriginals… Not There, but Here
Last modified on 2010-02-19 14:06:00 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
I came across this fabulous article by Kathy Sharp Frisbee of Falmouth, Massachusettes, that so beautifully expresses my inner grief at America’s well-intentioned, but under-informed need to preserve and assist the aboriginal cultures of people around the world, with seemingly little regard for our aboriginals here at home.
The trouble with this outflow of good will is that American aboriginals are suffering every bit as much as aboriginals might be elsewhere. Native America is so segregated from Euro-America that there is a form of social neglect happening (out of sight, out of mind). Additionally, Native Peoples are experiencing a devastating loss of their cultures as they are forced to assimilate, and they are faced with an unimaginable share of third-world living conditions…
All right here on American soil.
Ms. Frisbee points out that in our good and well-meaning hearts Americans have blazed a trail of “Humanitarian Tourism” all around the globe. This current trend seeks to aid ancient cultures in every remote local of the planet, empowering them to maintain their traditional lifestyles, and create economic independence so they can support their families.
While I must applaud such efforts, I also feel strongly that this prolific demonstration of charity should remain here at home where our duty lies, at least for a time. Once our homeland aboriginals are properly cared for, then we can take our care overseas in good conscience.
I also agree with Ms. Frisbee that learning our history is our duty. It is because Americans don’t know their history that we are, as a rule, blind to the continuing plight of our First Peoples. She goes on to mention the wisdom of Thanksgiving is to remember our Native neighbors, although I would add that our Thanksgiving traditions must undergo a serious social change if we want this to happen with ongoing regularity.
You will find Ms. Frisbee’s brief article easy reading, with a more emotionally balanced presentation than my own 
Ms. Frisbee is also a talented photographer, and elsewhere on her site she showcases her breathtaking gallery of modern Mashpee Wampanoag people in traditional cultural attire.
Article link:
http://www.kathysharpfrisbee.com/wamp07.html
- – - – - – - – - – - -
Posted September 15, 2009 by Admin
