Should We Celebrate Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims

Thanksgiving has become synonymous with family, food, and football. But this uniquely American holiday is not without controversy. While schoolchildren still learn that Thanksgiving marks the day that Pilgrims met helpful Indians who gave them food and farming tips to survive the winter, a group called the United American Indians of New England established Thanksgiving as its National Day of Mourning in 1970. The fact that UAINE mourns on this day poses a question to socially conscious Americans: Should Thanksgiving be celebrated? Some Natives Celebrate The decision to celebrate Thanksgiving divides Native Americans. Jacqueline Keeler wrote a widely circulated editorial about why she, a member of the Dineh Nation and Yankton Dakota Sioux, celebrates the holiday. For one, Keeler views herself as â€Å"a very select group of survivors.† The fact that natives managed to survive mass murder, forced relocation, theft of land, and other injustices â€Å"with our ability to share and to give intact† gives Keeler hope that healing is possible. In her essay, Keeler takes issue with how one-dimensionally natives are portrayed in commercialized Thanksgiving celebrations. The Thanksgiving she recognizes is a revisionist one: These were not merely ‘friendly Indians.’ They had already experienced European slave traders raiding their villages for a hundred years or so, and they were wary—but it was their way to give freely to those who had nothing. Among many of our peoples, showing that you can give without holding back is the way to earn respect. Award-winning author Sherman Alexie, Jr., who is Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, also celebrates Thanksgiving by recognizing the contributions the Wampanoag people made to the Pilgrims. Asked in a Sadie Magazine interview if he celebrates the holiday, Alexie humorously answered: We live up to the spirit of Thanksgiving cuz we invite all of our most desperately lonely white [friends] to come eat with us. We always end up with the recently broken up, the recently divorced, the brokenhearted. From the very beginning, Indians have been taking care of brokenhearted white people.We just extend that tradition. Problematic Historical Accounts If we’re to follow Keelers and Alexie’s lead, Thanksgiving should be celebrated by highlighting the contributions of the Wampanoag. All too often Thanksgiving is celebrated from a Eurocentric point of view. Tavares Avant, former president of the Wampanoag tribal council, cited this as an annoyance about the holiday during an ABC interview: â€Å"It’s all glorified that we were the friendly Indians and that’s where it ends. I do not like that. It kind of disturbs me that we... celebrate Thanksgiving†¦ based on conquest.† Schoolchildren are particularly vulnerable to being taught to celebrate the holiday in this manner. Some schools, however, are teaching revisionist Thanksgiving lessons. Teachers and parents can influence the way children think about Thanksgiving. Celebrating in School An anti-racist organization called Understanding Prejudice recommends that schools send letters home to parents addressing efforts to teach children about Thanksgiving in a manner that neither demeans nor stereotypes Native Americans. Such lessons could include discussions about why not all families celebrate Thanksgiving and why the representation of Native Americans on Thanksgiving cards and decorations has hurt indigenous peoples. The organization’s goal is to give students accurate information about Native Americans of the past and present while dismantling stereotypes that could lead children to develop racist attitudes. â€Å"Furthermore,† the organization states, â€Å"we want to make sure students understand that being an Indian is not a role, but part of a person’s identity.† Understanding Prejudice advises parents to deconstruct stereotypes their children have about Native Americans by gauging what they already believe about indigenous peoples. Simple questions such as â€Å"What do you know about Native Americans?† and â€Å"Where do Native Americans live today?† can reveal a lot. Parents should be prepared to give children information about the questions raised by using Internet resources such as U.S. Census Bureau data on Native Americans or by reading literature about Native Americans. The fact that National American Indian Month and Alaskan Native Month are recognized in November means that information about indigenous peoples is plentiful around Thanksgiving. Some Natives Don’t Celebrate The National Day of Mourning kicked off unintentionally in 1970. That year a banquet was held by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival. The organizers invited Frank James, a Wampanoag man, to speak at the banquet. Upon reviewing James’ speech—which mentioned European settlers looting the graves of the Wampanoag, taking their wheat and bean supplies, and selling them as slaves—banquet organizers gave him another speech to read that left out the gritty details of the first Thanksgiving, according to UAINE. Rather than deliver a speech that left out the facts, James and his supporters gathered at Plymouth, where they observed the first National Day of Mourning. Since then, UAINE has returned to Plymouth each Thanksgiving to protest how the holiday has been mythologized. Giving Thanks Year-Round In addition to disliking misinformation on the Thanksgiving holiday that has spread about natives and Pilgrims, some indigenous peoples don’t recognize it because they give thanks year-round. During Thanksgiving 2008, Bobbi Webster of the Oneida Nation told the Wisconsin State Journal that the Oneida have 13 ceremonies of thanksgiving throughout the year. Anne Thundercloud of the Ho-Chunk Nation told the Journal that her people also give thanks continually, so a single day of the year for thanksgiving clashes with Ho-Chunk tradition. â€Å"We’re a very spiritual people who are always giving thanks,† she explained. â€Å"The concept of setting aside one day for giving thanks doesn’t fit. We think of every day as Thanksgiving.† Thundercloud and her family have incorporated the fourth Thursday of November into the other holidays observed by the Ho-Chunk, the Journal reports. They extend Thanksgiving observance until Friday when they celebrate Ho-Chunk Day, a large gathering for their community. Celebrate Inclusively If you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, ask yourself just what you’re celebrating. Whether you choose to rejoice or mourn on Thanksgiving, initiate discussions about the holiday’s origins by focusing not just on the Pilgrims’ point of view but also on what the day meant for the Wampanoag and what it continues to signify for American Indians today.

The Katrina And 9 / 11 - 1160 Words

There have been many comparisons in the images of the suffering and despair that came from Hurricane Katrina in comparison to the images of grief and destruction that occurred on September 11, 2001. Both Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 were national catastrophes and have given many lessons learned for natural and man-made/terrorism disasters in the way of preparations, during actions, responses from Federal down to local authorities, and recovery efforts. And in both cases, the government has reevaluated its reactions and its structure for preparing for and responding to extreme events. Usually disaster response was traditionally ran by State and local governments with the Federal government performing in a support role, but after such events as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the application of the principles to the threats need to be better tailored to meet the demands of today’s society and needs. In other words, the federal government needs to continue to build upon the foundation of disaster relief and prepare for a more significant role in the response to a cataclysmic event. Federal Government responded to 9/11 by the almost immediate creation of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorist (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001, which authorized â€Å"sneak and peak† searches of homes and businesses – the act applied mostly to drug cases rather than terrorists, but the government also made other changes to some of theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Presidential Leadership During Times Of Crisis And Disaster1645 Words   |  7 Pagesthat disaster is depended on the president’s leadership capabilities. 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina were catalysts for the analysis of presidential leadership and management within the Bush Administration. 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Commercialising from the bottom up Onions in central Tanzania Free Essays

Key points: †¢ With minimal assistance and direction, small farmers in central Tanzania have created thriving plots of irrigated onions, marketed in Dar, other parts of Tanzania and in the region. †¢ Lack of formal credit has not prevented many farmers fertilising their crops heavily. Two villages have been able to overcome poor road access. We will write a custom essay sample on Commercialising from the bottom up: Onions in central Tanzania or any similar topic only for you Order Now †¢ Informal marketing work well enough: traders make small margins on the onions they buy and sell. †¢ Farmers are reluctant to co-operate in production or marketing; yet the irrigation depends on local water associations and these function. Government and donor roles have largely been keeping the peace, a stable macro-economy and investing in physical infrastructure — the roads, and upgrading the irrigation intakes. Provision of schools and health posts have brought services to the villages. and outcomes. Surveys of 240 households have been complemented by interviews with groups of farmers, elders and key informants. The study Since 2009, researchers from Sokoine University of Agriculture have been studying four villages in central Tanzania — see Map, where onions are grown under irrigation for sale to domestic and regional markets. Two of the villages, Ruaha and Malolo, are located close to the main Dar-Iringa highway, while the other two, Lumuma and Moswero, have much poorer access down long and difficult dirt roads. The studies are designed to understand and explain the role of commercialisation in the villages, the processes involved FAC Research Update 004 www. future-agricultures. org Research Update Box A: How things began: village history Irrigation began at Ruaha-Mbuyuni when Mohamed Nganyali, a fisherman from Iringa, moved to the village. He showed others how to use traditional intakes to raise water level in the river so that it can flow into earth canals. During that time the rainfall was enough for a typical rainfed cropping of field crops such as maize, simsim and sorghum. This intake was upgraded by government in 1963, after which people started to grow onions with seeds from neighbouring villages. As word spread, the village saw incomers seeking irrigated plots. The valley of Malolo was settled by Wasagara, later joined by Wahehe who fled the German war against chief Mkwawa in Iringa in the late C19; attracted by the water. In-migration accelerated after 1961. The irrigation intakes were upgraded in 2002, with 24 km of main canals lined: funds for the work came from Japanese aid. The first settler in Lumuma was Byalumuma who gave his name to the place and its river. Subsequently settlers have come from all over Tanzania In 1975 onion farming was boosted by extension services demonstrating improved techniques. The irrigation intakes were upgraded in 2003, thanks to Danish funding through the Agricultural Sector Development Programme. A recent memorable date is September 2008, when the first mobile phone signals arrived after installation of a local mast. Msowero was first settled by two Wakaguru and two Wasagara families who came for the chance to irrigate. The numbers rose sharply after ujamaa villagisation in 1975 which saw a school built. Its irrigation was upgraded as part of the works for Lumuma in 2003, since they draw on the same stream. Sources: Interviews with elders and other key informants What can be seen in the villages? Commercial production of onions began when farmers, shown how to do it by an ncomer in the 1960s, diverted water from the streams that flow off surrounding hills to irrigate small plots on the flood plain. Box A tells more of the history of the villages. Later farmers soon realised that onions were a profitable crop on the irrigated land and began to specialise in their cultivation. Onions are sold to traders, mainly small-scale operators who lack their own transport, who buy and bag the onions, then hire trucks to take them to Dar and Mbeya, and sometimes beyond to Zanizibar, the Comoros, and south to Malawi and Zambia. Onions are sold on spot deals to whoever arrives and offers a good price. There are plenty of traders and although farmers complain of their lack of bargaining power, the marketing chains appears competitive. Some farmers are making use of the ubiquitous mobile phones to arrange times for traders to come and collect harvests, and to check prices in distant markets. The villages have few alternatives to farming, but the onion trade has given them a living that they could not aspire to from growing food crops — see Figure A, showing returns to crops. Figure A: Returns to land and labour in the four villages, median values in US$ One surprising finding is that many of the farmers who are most engaged in irrigated onions have few or no food crops. Instead they seem to be obtaining most of their maize and other staples from neighbours who grow a surplus on rainfed fields. Surveys in rural Africa usually find farmers preferring to grow their own staples on part of their land, even when they have more profitable cash crops. Research Update 003 www. future-agricultures. org What has made the difference? Most of what has happened has come from the initiative of local farmers, linked to traders who are mainly small operators from other rural areas. It was the farmers who built rustic offtakes, diverted the water, levelled the plots and learned how to grow onions. Almost all the capital invested is local: very few farmers obtain credit, yet they apply 135–175 kg/ha of manufactured fertiliser on their plots. Almost all of them finance this from their retained earnings. At first sight, government has played a minor role. But that would be unfair. Government has ensured a stable economy where farmers can invest, innovate and market their crops. It has also built roads, maintained them. The villages have schools and health posts. When disasters have struck in the past — major droughts and floods, government has provided some relief. In one case, onion producers benefited from extension. Most interesting of all, government guided two donors, Denmark and Japan, to the villages where they funded the modernisation of the intakes. Ideal aid: the donors just helped the farmers improve on what they were already doing, without trying to tell them what to do. The irrigation systems are maintained by the farmers, through water users associations. Marketing might be improved by farmers investing in storage allowing them to extend sales to the months when onion prices rise. Use of text messages to the mobile phones could supply them with regular price updates that would help them make better decisions on selling. There are threats. Population has been rising steadily in the area, as farmers from dryland areas come looking for irrigated plots. Rents correspondingly are rising. With a heavy concentration on onions, there is always the threat of disease or a new pest that could spell disaster. Moreover, the onions are so profitable, one wonders how long before more villages take up the crop and begin to compete in the market. For the two remote villages, there is the prospect that one day the road will be improved: at the moment they are less than 40 km from district headquarters at Kilosa, but cannot drive there directly and instead have to take a circuitous route where it takes five hours to reach the Dar to Dodoma tarmac highway. The road to Kilosa has been in development plans for some years, but it has yet to be built. What are we going to look at next? Current studies are looking at the water associations. These function well enough: they have to, water supply is vital. Yet farmers do not co-operate in production, marketing or almost anything else. The question then is, when people are reluctant to co-operate, how do the water bodies work and what is the secret of their success? Next year it is intended to go back and resurvey the farmers, so that changes can be tracked through time. What might the future hold? Some scope exists to improve onion cultivation through use of certified, improved varieties instead of relying on the sometimes variable quality of local seed. Research Update 003 www. future-agricultures. org This Research Update was written by Khamaldin Mutabazi, Ntengua Mdoe Steve Wiggins of the Future Agricultures Consortium. The series editor is Beatrice Ouma. Further information about this series of Research Updates at: www. future-agricultures. org The Future Agricultures Consortium aims to encourage critical debate and policy dialogue on the future of agriculture in Africa. The Consortium is a partnership between research-based organisations across Africa and in the UK. Future Agricultures Consortium Secretariat at the University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE UK T +44 (0) 1273 915670 E info@future-agricultures. org Readers are encouraged to quote or reproduce material from Future Agricultures Briefings in their own publications. In return, the Future Agricultures Consortium requests due acknowledgement and a copy of the publication. FAC appreciates the support of the UK Department for International Development (DfID) How to cite Commercialising from the bottom up: Onions in central Tanzania, Papers

A very cheeky lesson learned free essay sample

Lily Allen is growing up. She’s traded in her neon trainers for designer pumps and drunken stumble for a more mature, almost elegant glide, and sure, she still Twitters like a fiend and picks fights with even the most established of celebrities, but now with a slightly wiser and more placid affectation. Where 2007’s Alright, Still was a cheeky (platinum in UK), in-your-face pop gem, Allen’s latest It’s Not me, It’s You is an equally cheeky, in-your-face pop gem in a slightly less smug tune and with even a few morals stuffed between acidic bouts of verbal abuse. That’s not to say it’s an after-school special, Allen is still very much a boisterous twenty-something with a rampaging attitude and this shows on blatantly boorish songs â€Å"Not Fair† and â€Å"Never Gonna Happen†, both of which reject prospective lovers with a less than tactful approach. But she throws anti-prejudiced ideas into songs and makes quips at her own growing celebrity status â€Å"I’ll take off my clothes and it will be shameless, ‘cuz everyone knows that’s how you get famous† on â€Å"The Fear†. We will write a custom essay sample on A very cheeky lesson learned or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She chides the media, condemns her and the world’s nasty habits, and contemplates death in the name of religion, but never once forgets her audience, balancing ethics with rude banter and synth-heavy pop hooks. Allen also gets personal, reconciling with her mom over Chinese takeout on â€Å"Chinese† and revealing an equally strained and loving relationship with her dad on â€Å"He Wasn’t There†. Allen abandons her dance-rock sound of Alright, Still for an eclectic mix of synth-led tunes, but none of the hooks quite stick. The electro-western kitsch of â€Å"Not Fair† seems out of place for a pop-star whose persona is based entirely on witty British-ness. Other times, good attempts are misplaced, like the Eastern-European accordion ditty meets summery breakup song, â€Å"Never Gonna Happen†, which is a bit too disjointed. Most songs have just enough dance-beat bass to get stuck in one’s head, even without being completely welcome there. Even when Allen’s uncouth jesting gets a bit too crude for a traditional palate and her tunes almost miss the mark, she cannot be denied her rightful place as reigning pop princess. Her self-created image and hand-penned songs are a genre in themselves, a genre swarming with poor Allen facsimiles, like faux-lesbian Katy Perry. They have the look, but not many tongues are planted firmly enough in cheek to compete with Ms. Lily Allen, pop-star extraordinaire.