How Americans Explain Thanksgiving to the Indians
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
A General Thanksgiving Declaration
In mid-winter 1620 the English ship Mayflower landed on the North American coast (at Plymouth Rock) delivering 102 Puritan exiles. The original Native people ("Indians") of this stretch of shoreline had already been killed off in great numbers.
In 1614 a British expedition had landed there. When they left they took 24 Indians as slaves and left smallpox, syphilis and gonorrhea behind. That plague swept the so called "tribes of New England", destroyed some villages totally.
The Puritans landed and built their colony called "the Plymouth Plantation" near the desired ruins of the Indian village of Pawtuxet. They ate from abandoned cornfields grown wild.
Historical accounts tell us that only one Pawtuxet named Squanto had survived. He had spent the last years as a slaveto the English and Spanish in Europe. The Pilgrim crop failed miserably, but the agricultural expertise of Squanto produced 20 acres of corn, without which the Pilgrims would have surely perished. Squanto spoke the colonists' language and taught them how to plant corn and how to catch fish. Squanto also helped the colonists negotiate a peace treaty with the nearby Wampanoagtribe, led by the chief Massasoit.
These were very lucky breaks for the colonists. Thanks to the good will of the Wampanoag, the Puritans not only survived their first year but had an alliance with the Wampanoags that would give them almost two decades of peace.
In celebration of their good fortune, the colony's governor, William Bradford, declared a three-day feast afterthe first harvest of 1621. It later became known as "Thanksgiving", but the Pilgrims never called it that. The "Indians" who attended were not even invited. The pilgrims only invited Chief Massasoit and it was Massasoit who then invited ninety or more of his "Indian" brothers and sisters to the affair to the chagrin of the indignant Europeans.
No turkey, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie was served, no prayers were offered and the "Indians" were not invited back for any other such meals.The peace that produced the Thanksgiving Feast of 1621 meant that the Puritans would have fifteen years to established a firm foothold on the coast. Until 1629 there were no more than 300 Puritans in New England, scattered in small and isolated settlements. But their survival inspired awave of Puritan invasion that soon established growing Massachusetts towns north of Plymouth; Boston and Salem.
For ten years, boat loads of new settlers came. As the Europeans' numbers increased, they proved not nearly as generous as the Wampanoags. On arrival, the Puritans discussed "whole gally owns all this land? "Massachusetts Governor Wintrop declared the "Indians" had not "subdued" the land, and therefore all uncultivated lands should, according to English Common Law, be considered "public domain."
This meant they belonged to the king.
In short, colonists decided they did notneed to consult the "Indians". When they seized the new lands, they only had to consult the representative of the crown (meaning the local governor). The Puritans embraced a line from Psalms 2:8, "Ask of me, and I shall give thee, the heather for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of he earth for thy possession."
Contrary to popular mythology, the Pilgrims were no friends to the local Indigenous People ("Indians"). In about 1636, a force of colonists trapped some seven hundred Pequot Indians near the mouth of the Mystic River.
English Captain John Mason attacked the Indian camp with "fire, sword, blunderbuss, and tomahawk." Only a handful escaped and few prisoners were taken. "To see them frying in thefire, and the streams of their blood quenching the same, and the stench was horrible, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice to the great delight of the Pilgrims, and they gave praise thereof to God.
"The Puritan fathers believed they were the Chosen People of an Infinite God and that this justified anything they did. They were Calvinists who believed that the vast majority of humanity was predestined to damnation. During this period a day of thanksgiving was also proclaimed in the churches of Manhattan.
The European colonists declared thanksgiving days to celebrate mass murder more often than they did for reverence, harvest or friendship.
In 1641 the Dutch governor Kieft of Manhattan offered the first "scalp bounty". His government paid money for the scalp of each "Indian" brought to him. A couple of years later, Kieft ordered the massacre of the Wappingers, a "friendly tribe". Eighty were killed and their heads severed. In their victory, the settlers launched an all out genocide plot against the remaining Native people.
The Massachusetts government, following what appeared to be the order of the day, offered twenty shillings bounty for every "Indian" scalp, and forty shillings for every prisoner who could be sold into slavery. Soldiers were allowed to enslave and rape any "Indian" woman or enslave any "Indian" child under 14 they could kidnap.
The "Praying Indians" who had converted to Christianity and fought on the side of the European troops were accused of shooting into the treetops during battles with "hostiles." They were enslaved or killed. Other "peaceful Indians" of Dartmouth and Dover were invited to negotiate or seek refuge at trading posts and were sold onto slave ships.
Colonial law further gave permission to "kill savages ("Indians") on sight at will."Any goodwill that may have existed was certainly now gone and by 1675 Massachusetts and the surrounding colonies were in a full scale war with thegreat chief of the Wampanoags, Metacomet. Renamed "King Phillip" by the Europeans,
Metacomet watched the steady erosion of the lifestyles and culture of his people as European laws and values engulfed them. The syphilis, gonorrhea, smallpox and all types of "foreign" diseases took their toll.
Forced ultimately into humiliating submission by the power of a distant king, Metacomet struck out with raids on several isolated frontier towns. The expedient use of the so-called "Praying Indians" (natives converted to their version of Christianity), ultimately defeated the great "Indian" nation, just half a century after the arrival of the European.
When Captain Benjamin Church tracked down and assassinated Metacomet, his body was quartered and parts were "left for the wolves." The great "Indian"chief's hands were cut off and sent to Boston and his head went to Plymouthwhere it was set upon a poke on Thanksgiving Day, 1767.
Metacomet's nine-year-old son was destined for execution, the Puritan reasoning being that the offspring of the "Devil" must pay for the sins of their father. He was instead shipped to the Caribbean to serve his life in slavery.
In the midst of the Holocaust/Genocide of the Native Americans, Governor Dudley declared in 1704 a "General Thanksgiving" not to celebrate the brotherhood of man, but for:[God's] infinite Goodness to extend His Favors... In defeating and disappointing.... the expeditions of the Enemy [Indians] against us, And the good Success given us against them, by delivering so many of them into our hands...
What do Americans see when you say Thanksgiving?
In 1614 a British expedition had landed there. When they left they took 24 Indians as slaves and left smallpox, syphilis and gonorrhea behind. That plague swept the so called "tribes of New England", destroyed some villages totally.
The Puritans landed and built their colony called "the Plymouth Plantation" near the desired ruins of the Indian village of Pawtuxet. They ate from abandoned cornfields grown wild.
Historical accounts tell us that only one Pawtuxet named Squanto had survived. He had spent the last years as a slaveto the English and Spanish in Europe. The Pilgrim crop failed miserably, but the agricultural expertise of Squanto produced 20 acres of corn, without which the Pilgrims would have surely perished. Squanto spoke the colonists' language and taught them how to plant corn and how to catch fish. Squanto also helped the colonists negotiate a peace treaty with the nearby Wampanoagtribe, led by the chief Massasoit.
These were very lucky breaks for the colonists. Thanks to the good will of the Wampanoag, the Puritans not only survived their first year but had an alliance with the Wampanoags that would give them almost two decades of peace.
In celebration of their good fortune, the colony's governor, William Bradford, declared a three-day feast afterthe first harvest of 1621. It later became known as "Thanksgiving", but the Pilgrims never called it that. The "Indians" who attended were not even invited. The pilgrims only invited Chief Massasoit and it was Massasoit who then invited ninety or more of his "Indian" brothers and sisters to the affair to the chagrin of the indignant Europeans.
No turkey, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie was served, no prayers were offered and the "Indians" were not invited back for any other such meals.The peace that produced the Thanksgiving Feast of 1621 meant that the Puritans would have fifteen years to established a firm foothold on the coast. Until 1629 there were no more than 300 Puritans in New England, scattered in small and isolated settlements. But their survival inspired awave of Puritan invasion that soon established growing Massachusetts towns north of Plymouth; Boston and Salem.
For ten years, boat loads of new settlers came. As the Europeans' numbers increased, they proved not nearly as generous as the Wampanoags. On arrival, the Puritans discussed "whole gally owns all this land? "Massachusetts Governor Wintrop declared the "Indians" had not "subdued" the land, and therefore all uncultivated lands should, according to English Common Law, be considered "public domain."
This meant they belonged to the king.
In short, colonists decided they did notneed to consult the "Indians". When they seized the new lands, they only had to consult the representative of the crown (meaning the local governor). The Puritans embraced a line from Psalms 2:8, "Ask of me, and I shall give thee, the heather for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of he earth for thy possession."
Contrary to popular mythology, the Pilgrims were no friends to the local Indigenous People ("Indians"). In about 1636, a force of colonists trapped some seven hundred Pequot Indians near the mouth of the Mystic River.
English Captain John Mason attacked the Indian camp with "fire, sword, blunderbuss, and tomahawk." Only a handful escaped and few prisoners were taken. "To see them frying in thefire, and the streams of their blood quenching the same, and the stench was horrible, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice to the great delight of the Pilgrims, and they gave praise thereof to God.
"The Puritan fathers believed they were the Chosen People of an Infinite God and that this justified anything they did. They were Calvinists who believed that the vast majority of humanity was predestined to damnation. During this period a day of thanksgiving was also proclaimed in the churches of Manhattan.
The European colonists declared thanksgiving days to celebrate mass murder more often than they did for reverence, harvest or friendship.
In 1641 the Dutch governor Kieft of Manhattan offered the first "scalp bounty". His government paid money for the scalp of each "Indian" brought to him. A couple of years later, Kieft ordered the massacre of the Wappingers, a "friendly tribe". Eighty were killed and their heads severed. In their victory, the settlers launched an all out genocide plot against the remaining Native people.
The Massachusetts government, following what appeared to be the order of the day, offered twenty shillings bounty for every "Indian" scalp, and forty shillings for every prisoner who could be sold into slavery. Soldiers were allowed to enslave and rape any "Indian" woman or enslave any "Indian" child under 14 they could kidnap.
The "Praying Indians" who had converted to Christianity and fought on the side of the European troops were accused of shooting into the treetops during battles with "hostiles." They were enslaved or killed. Other "peaceful Indians" of Dartmouth and Dover were invited to negotiate or seek refuge at trading posts and were sold onto slave ships.
Colonial law further gave permission to "kill savages ("Indians") on sight at will."Any goodwill that may have existed was certainly now gone and by 1675 Massachusetts and the surrounding colonies were in a full scale war with thegreat chief of the Wampanoags, Metacomet. Renamed "King Phillip" by the Europeans,
Metacomet watched the steady erosion of the lifestyles and culture of his people as European laws and values engulfed them. The syphilis, gonorrhea, smallpox and all types of "foreign" diseases took their toll.
Forced ultimately into humiliating submission by the power of a distant king, Metacomet struck out with raids on several isolated frontier towns. The expedient use of the so-called "Praying Indians" (natives converted to their version of Christianity), ultimately defeated the great "Indian" nation, just half a century after the arrival of the European.
When Captain Benjamin Church tracked down and assassinated Metacomet, his body was quartered and parts were "left for the wolves." The great "Indian"chief's hands were cut off and sent to Boston and his head went to Plymouthwhere it was set upon a poke on Thanksgiving Day, 1767.
Metacomet's nine-year-old son was destined for execution, the Puritan reasoning being that the offspring of the "Devil" must pay for the sins of their father. He was instead shipped to the Caribbean to serve his life in slavery.
In the midst of the Holocaust/Genocide of the Native Americans, Governor Dudley declared in 1704 a "General Thanksgiving" not to celebrate the brotherhood of man, but for:[God's] infinite Goodness to extend His Favors... In defeating and disappointing.... the expeditions of the Enemy [Indians] against us, And the good Success given us against them, by delivering so many of them into our hands...
What do Americans see when you say Thanksgiving?
Monday, November 22, 2004
The New MECCA - Multi Ethnic Cross Cultural Assimilation
A fan writes to me and says:
Dear Ray,
I wish you could see my church. It is truly multi-cultural. I'm really not into statistics but there are people coming to my church in Elmhurst, Queens, NYC from all over the world. It is a beautiful sight and a little piece of heaven. Tonight they are having "Bangra Ball"- some kind of dance form from India, for the singles- ages 23-74. I would have preferred Native American dances, but our singles pastor is Jimmy Chin, Korean or Chinese, so I guess he's thinking more Asian. There are some 150 Native American people in Elmhurst, according to the census, out of some 15,000 people, most of whom are Asian or Hispanic. There are quite a few of us in the church of NA descent but only my family, myself, my daughter and my sister are culturally involved.
===============
RAY: Hi Sister -- and thanks for what you are doing and contributing in your church -- what a good thing you are doing! I am sure there are good things happening in MECC (Multi-ethnic Cross-cultural) churches all over North America. This is an urban phenomenon and whenyou get to suburban and rural (reservation) areas, this is really not sociologically possible. Even in the cities, there are churches thatare mono-cultural and have no plans and no calling to be MECC.
The difficulty we see is that the MECC concept is being imposed on many and it is being taught that this is the "right" way to do church and the "closest to the biblical requirements" of any other church form. This is both bad teaching and spiritually abusive to do so.
MECC is a fad (maybe a preference), not a biblical mandate. Yes we will all be together in heaven, and on occasion we cross cultural lines here. But we have 6000 languages spoken in the world today and many more cultures than that (meaning, for example, that many places may speak English but the cultures are different).
So if a group of urban people which to "mix it up" -- go for it! But don't let them impose their form and format on us and insist that their way is "anointed", "the highest form of biblical gathering", the "biblical mandate", or "the future model of the church on earth".
There is enough trouble in trying to have a church on the Yakama Reservation with fourteen different tribes and strong families from different lines "competing" in various ways. Sprinkle in some whites and hispanics and there is plenty to do without forcing whites to be mexicans, or mexicans to be Yakamas or Yakamas to be white.
Some might say "oh but how beautiful it would be if they could all worship in each others' ways", but frankly, that is exhausting and confusing! We should not have to exhaust ourselves to follow Christ -- co-dependently attempting to appease and please every cultural community!
Most people that I have talked with about MECC are very gung-ho about "their way" and it is best not to get in their way. Armed with only a few scriptures, they justify "their way" by guilting the mono-cultural churches and native sacred gatherings that I am often part of.
The first church I started was Spanish-speaking. After about 3 years they added an English-speaking congregation but did not force worship together. They shared the building and did some things together, but did not try to "force conformity" and call it "biblical unity". From that one mono-cultural Spanish church, 20 more Spanish Foursquare churches emerged, and not due to any partnership with white churches.They were free to follow the ways of the Hispanic community and were quite successful.
It was not the white Foursquare churches that decided to add Spanish songs to their service and become multi-cultural. It was the Spanish-speaking reaching the Spanish-speaking. Apparently something worked since the Hispanic pastor I installed when I left is today the Supervisor of Fourquare's National Hispanic District.
When you see an MECC church, usually it is run in a very Western way with Western (white or black) leadership, Western Bible College or seminary-trained pastors, usually connected to Western denominations, following Western preaching styles, tithe collecting, and emphasis on buildings and programs.
What they use to demonstrate "multiculturalism" are music specials, and sometimes speakers and special events. But for the most part, it is really just a mainstream church serving up a combo platter. Sure there is Chinese food, Mexican food and pizza on their spiritual plate, but the restaurant is still owned and run by the majority church.
Culture is God's way of communicating to the many peoples He has made. If someone wants to try and work with 10 groups at a time, fine. But one culture will dominate in leadership, education,finances and control. The other cultures will get to do the entertainment and the specials. I have attended a national MECC leaders' conference -- I am not making this up.
To me, Jesus said to go preach the Good News to every "ethne" (people group). He did not say, "blessed are the efficient ones who can save more cultures with less pastors". So I am continuing on the same path of encouraging small gatherings that form around natural cultural characteristics. We are still one Body in Christ, but let us not be afraid to be who we are, who we were made to be.
And let us not be afraid to acknowledge that we need the other parts of the body, but if you are the heart or the eyes, don't try to be the foot or the arm. We are trying to be the Bride of Christ, not the Bride of Frankenstein!
Thanks for listening!
+Ray
http://www.djchuang.com/multi/ - if you want to research MECCA on your own...
Dear Ray,
I wish you could see my church. It is truly multi-cultural. I'm really not into statistics but there are people coming to my church in Elmhurst, Queens, NYC from all over the world. It is a beautiful sight and a little piece of heaven. Tonight they are having "Bangra Ball"- some kind of dance form from India, for the singles- ages 23-74. I would have preferred Native American dances, but our singles pastor is Jimmy Chin, Korean or Chinese, so I guess he's thinking more Asian. There are some 150 Native American people in Elmhurst, according to the census, out of some 15,000 people, most of whom are Asian or Hispanic. There are quite a few of us in the church of NA descent but only my family, myself, my daughter and my sister are culturally involved.
===============
RAY: Hi Sister -- and thanks for what you are doing and contributing in your church -- what a good thing you are doing! I am sure there are good things happening in MECC (Multi-ethnic Cross-cultural) churches all over North America. This is an urban phenomenon and whenyou get to suburban and rural (reservation) areas, this is really not sociologically possible. Even in the cities, there are churches thatare mono-cultural and have no plans and no calling to be MECC.
The difficulty we see is that the MECC concept is being imposed on many and it is being taught that this is the "right" way to do church and the "closest to the biblical requirements" of any other church form. This is both bad teaching and spiritually abusive to do so.
MECC is a fad (maybe a preference), not a biblical mandate. Yes we will all be together in heaven, and on occasion we cross cultural lines here. But we have 6000 languages spoken in the world today and many more cultures than that (meaning, for example, that many places may speak English but the cultures are different).
So if a group of urban people which to "mix it up" -- go for it! But don't let them impose their form and format on us and insist that their way is "anointed", "the highest form of biblical gathering", the "biblical mandate", or "the future model of the church on earth".
There is enough trouble in trying to have a church on the Yakama Reservation with fourteen different tribes and strong families from different lines "competing" in various ways. Sprinkle in some whites and hispanics and there is plenty to do without forcing whites to be mexicans, or mexicans to be Yakamas or Yakamas to be white.
Some might say "oh but how beautiful it would be if they could all worship in each others' ways", but frankly, that is exhausting and confusing! We should not have to exhaust ourselves to follow Christ -- co-dependently attempting to appease and please every cultural community!
Most people that I have talked with about MECC are very gung-ho about "their way" and it is best not to get in their way. Armed with only a few scriptures, they justify "their way" by guilting the mono-cultural churches and native sacred gatherings that I am often part of.
The first church I started was Spanish-speaking. After about 3 years they added an English-speaking congregation but did not force worship together. They shared the building and did some things together, but did not try to "force conformity" and call it "biblical unity". From that one mono-cultural Spanish church, 20 more Spanish Foursquare churches emerged, and not due to any partnership with white churches.They were free to follow the ways of the Hispanic community and were quite successful.
It was not the white Foursquare churches that decided to add Spanish songs to their service and become multi-cultural. It was the Spanish-speaking reaching the Spanish-speaking. Apparently something worked since the Hispanic pastor I installed when I left is today the Supervisor of Fourquare's National Hispanic District.
When you see an MECC church, usually it is run in a very Western way with Western (white or black) leadership, Western Bible College or seminary-trained pastors, usually connected to Western denominations, following Western preaching styles, tithe collecting, and emphasis on buildings and programs.
What they use to demonstrate "multiculturalism" are music specials, and sometimes speakers and special events. But for the most part, it is really just a mainstream church serving up a combo platter. Sure there is Chinese food, Mexican food and pizza on their spiritual plate, but the restaurant is still owned and run by the majority church.
Culture is God's way of communicating to the many peoples He has made. If someone wants to try and work with 10 groups at a time, fine. But one culture will dominate in leadership, education,finances and control. The other cultures will get to do the entertainment and the specials. I have attended a national MECC leaders' conference -- I am not making this up.
To me, Jesus said to go preach the Good News to every "ethne" (people group). He did not say, "blessed are the efficient ones who can save more cultures with less pastors". So I am continuing on the same path of encouraging small gatherings that form around natural cultural characteristics. We are still one Body in Christ, but let us not be afraid to be who we are, who we were made to be.
And let us not be afraid to acknowledge that we need the other parts of the body, but if you are the heart or the eyes, don't try to be the foot or the arm. We are trying to be the Bride of Christ, not the Bride of Frankenstein!
Thanks for listening!
+Ray
http://www.djchuang.com/multi/ - if you want to research MECCA on your own...
Monday, November 15, 2004
The Yanomamo Declaration Against Eating Missionaries
In the middle of the jungle a church was born. 350 years ago, the Haleluya began to worship God in a new way that had come to their founder. They have never had a missionary nor a Bible to teach them, yet in all our encounters with them, the express a biblical faith. My friend preached to them a while back. Since they have no written language, they created a song that included the teaching points of his sermon. When has someone in your church written a song about one of your sermons?
My friends have spent much time with the Haleluya church. They Haleluyas have never been welcomed by the Brazilian church because the Brazilians have been too busy stealing their land, abusing their girls, and building wherever they want. But the Haleluyas stay in the jungle, praying for deliverance.
Every day, without alarm clocks, these people rise at 3 AM and pray until 6 AM. When someone is sick, they all fast together for three days. Maybe what post moderns really want is this savage religion -- any takers?
So now, as the Brazilian evangelicals find out about the Haleluyas, the church will ask, "well do they believe in the Bible?", the Four Spiritual Laws (4 Leis Espirituais)?, the Nicene Creed or the Athanasian Creed ()? or anything written by Max Lucado or Phillip Yancey? How orthodox are they -- do they subscribe to the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral?
Of course for a people cut off from the wider church, these won't be easy questions to answer. They will have to have a written language first. Of course the Evangelical church doesn't seem to care about the Yanomamo Declaration Against Eating Missionaries, which would no doubt save their lives in certain areas.
I hope the church is big-hearted and merciful enough to make a place for the Halaluya Church and all the other emerging churches just now coming out of the jungles of obscurity. With God's help, me and Liz will go to the annual Haleluya church celebration of 2000 to 3000 believers some November. No outsiders have ever been invited. We are very excited to go when the time comes.
We we able to collect a box of protocol gifts -- all kinds of jewelry and crafts made by native North Amricans. These were taken this month as gifts to the Macuxi and Ingarico people gathering there. (We are not sure what they will do with the earrings since these people do not pierce their ears...) It is their first contact with Native North Americans. Thanks for helping to make all this possible. Thanks for you prayers, and thanks for listening...
My friends have spent much time with the Haleluya church. They Haleluyas have never been welcomed by the Brazilian church because the Brazilians have been too busy stealing their land, abusing their girls, and building wherever they want. But the Haleluyas stay in the jungle, praying for deliverance.
Every day, without alarm clocks, these people rise at 3 AM and pray until 6 AM. When someone is sick, they all fast together for three days. Maybe what post moderns really want is this savage religion -- any takers?
So now, as the Brazilian evangelicals find out about the Haleluyas, the church will ask, "well do they believe in the Bible?", the Four Spiritual Laws (4 Leis Espirituais)?, the Nicene Creed or the Athanasian Creed ()? or anything written by Max Lucado or Phillip Yancey? How orthodox are they -- do they subscribe to the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral?
Of course for a people cut off from the wider church, these won't be easy questions to answer. They will have to have a written language first. Of course the Evangelical church doesn't seem to care about the Yanomamo Declaration Against Eating Missionaries, which would no doubt save their lives in certain areas.
I hope the church is big-hearted and merciful enough to make a place for the Halaluya Church and all the other emerging churches just now coming out of the jungles of obscurity. With God's help, me and Liz will go to the annual Haleluya church celebration of 2000 to 3000 believers some November. No outsiders have ever been invited. We are very excited to go when the time comes.
We we able to collect a box of protocol gifts -- all kinds of jewelry and crafts made by native North Amricans. These were taken this month as gifts to the Macuxi and Ingarico people gathering there. (We are not sure what they will do with the earrings since these people do not pierce their ears...) It is their first contact with Native North Americans. Thanks for helping to make all this possible. Thanks for you prayers, and thanks for listening...
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