National Day of Mourning (United States)
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The National Day of Mourning is an annual protest held on the fourth Thursday of November, the same day as Thanksgiving, in the United States of America since 1970.
The 35th National Day of Mourning was held on Thursday, November 25, 2004, and was dedicated to convicted murderer Leonard Peltier, believed by some (including Amnesty International)[1] to be a political prisoner. Many American Indians and their supporters will gather at the top of Coles Hill, overlooking Plymouth Rock, just as Wamsutta (Frank B.) James (1923 - February 20, 2001), an Aquinnah Wampanoag elder and Native American activist, did in at the first protest in 1970. Thanksgiving day, for them, is a reminder of the democide of the Native people. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which some Native Americans continue to perceive. The protest is organized by the United American Indians of New England (UAINE).
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[edit] History
Since 1921 (the 300th year after the first Thanksgiving) the Commonwealth of Massachusetts stages a reenactment of Thanksgiving each year. They gather at a church on the site of the Pilgrims' original meeting house, in 17th century costume. After prayers and a sermon, they march to Plymouth Rock. This annual event had even become something of a tourist attraction.
The National Day of Mourning began on the 350th anniversary celebration of the Pilgrims' arrival on Wampanoag American Indian's land. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts was planning to celebrate friendly relations between their forefathers and the Wampanoag. Wampanoag leader Frank James was invited to make a speech at the celebration[2]. However, when the anniversary planners reviewed his speech beforehand, they decided it was not appropriate for their celebration. The reason given was, "...the theme of the anniversary celebration is brotherhood and anything inflammatory would have been out of place." (Source: UAINE) Wamsutta used as a basis for his speech one of the Pilgrim's books - a Pilgrim's account of their first year on Indian land. The book tells of the opening of his ancestor's graves, taking their wheat and bean supplies, and of the selling of his ancestors as slaves for 220 shillings each. Upon being handed a revised speech, written by a public relations person, Wamsutta decided he would not be attending the celebration. Instead, to protest the continued silencing of the American Indian people, he and his supporters went to neighbouring Coles Hill, near the statue of Massasoit (leader of the Wampanoag when the Pilgrims landed). Overlooking the Plymouth Harbour and the Mayflower replica, he gave his speech. This was the first National Day of Mourning.
The National Day of Mourning protest in Plymouth continues to this day, now led by his son, and the group James helped found in 1970, UAINE.
In 1997 this protest erupted in violence and arrests were made. More recent protests have been held on Coles Hill, overlooking but not at Plymouth Rock. The originators have been joined by black, Hispanic, and even other activists in protest. Typically several hundred protesters appear.
[edit] Will the Protest Ever End?
According to a speech by Moonanum James, Co-Leader of United American Indians of New England at the 29th National Day of Mourning, November 26, 1998[3]:
| “ | Some ask us: Will you ever stop protesting? Some day we will stop protesting: We will stop protesting when the merchants of Plymouth are no longer making millions of dollars off the blood of our slaughtered ancestors. We will stop protesting when we can act as sovereign nations on our own land without the interference of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and what Sitting Bull called the "favorite ration chiefs." When corporations stop polluting our mother, the earth. When racism has been eradicated. When the oppression of Two-Spirited people is a thing of the past. We will stop protesting when homeless people have homes and no child goes to bed hungry. When police brutality no longer exists in communities of color. We will stop protesting when Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abu Jamal and the Puerto Rican independentistas and all the political prisoners are free. Until then, the struggle will continue. | ” |
[edit] References
- Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond (1997).
- "Death by Disease" by Ann F. Ramenofsky in "Archaeology" (March/April 1992).
- Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick (2006).
