the truth, thanksgiving, and thanks... 11/23/2017 0 Comments   Still Under Attack... The people of Standing Rock, including the Dakota, the Lakota and all Sioux are attempting to block the evil 1,170 mile, $3.7 billion Dakota Access Oil Pipeline which will dig through the three-mile-wide Missouri River, poisoning the water and desecrating the sacred land of the indigenous people. by E.L. Christianson Jr. Well, for starters, we know for certain that the popular American myth of 'that first Thanksgiving' is exactly that, a myth.  One can get a more truthful version of what really happened if they can expand their perception to include the Wampanoag Side of the Story​. ​​The pilgrims (who did not call themselves pilgrims) did not come here seeking religious freedom; they already had that in Holland.  The history of religion in the Netherlands has been characterized by considerable diversity of religious thought and practice going back even before Roman times. ​Since the 1960s the Netherlands has become one of the most non-religious countries in the western world. In a December 2014 survey by the VU University Amsterdam was concluded that for the first time there are more atheists (25%) than theists (17%) in the Netherlands. The majority of the population being agnostic (31%) or ietsist (27%). They weren't fleeing religious persecution, but were seeking a place where they had the freedom to conduct their own religious persecution. Also, some on the Mayflower were not escaping from religious persecution in England, but rather the tolerant Dutch Republic that they feared was influencing their children. After illegally breaking from the Church of England, the Separatists settled in the Netherlands under the relatively lenient Dutch laws.  Due to economic difficulties, as well as fears that they would lose their English language and heritage, they began to make plans to settle in the New World. In 1620, the 'pilgrims' joined a London stock company that would finance their trip aboard the Mayflower, a three-masted merchant ship.   They came here as part of a commercial venture. ​The term Indians as applied to Native Americans, or the indigenous peoples of the Americas, is thought to have originated in a misconception on the part of the Europeans who arrived in Central America in 1492.  Since Christopher Columbus began his journey to America with the intent of finding an alternate route to Southeast Asia.  Columbus carried a passport in Latin from the Spanish monarchs that dispatched him 'ad partes Indie' ("toward the regions of India") on their behalf. When he landed in the Antilles, Columbus referred to the resident peoples he encountered there as "Indians" reflecting his purported belief that he had reached the Indian Ocean.  Although Columbus soon recognized that he had not reached the Indies,  the islands in Central America came to be called the "West Indies", as opposed to the "East Indies" that Columbus originally had in mind as his destination. --wisegeek and wikipedia In the 1970s, the academic world began promoting the term Native Americans as a politically correct alternative to Indians. Some people feel that Native Americans is more accurate and less stigmatizing. However, Native Americans also has some issues, as anyone born in the Americas, indigenous or not, could be considered "Native American" if the term is taken literally. "Indigenous peoples of the Americas" is the most accurate term, but too cumbersome to be used regularly in everyday speech. Native Americans caught on to some degree, especially in the media, but the term Indians is still widely used. ​The arrival of the Europeans in the New World was the beginning of the end of Indian life. Many settlers thought they were superior to the Indians and tried to force them to take on their way of life. Land became the main problem between the Europeans and the Indians. Settlers wanted land for farming and mining.  As time went on, more and more Indians were forced off their land as new settlers arrived and travelled west. At first settlers and Indians were friendly towards each other but when they started to protect their land fighting broke out.   In 1830 a law was passed that allowed the government to move Indian tribes to the land west of the Mississippi. When gold was found in California in the 1850s settlers rushed west as quickly as possible and destroyed the land that the Indians depended on for hunting and fishing. At the beginning of the 20th century the American government started putting Indian tribes on reservations in the western part of the United States.  That program fails when valuable resources are discovered on 'Indian reservations'.  Similarly there is failure when the American government reneges promises.  The Dakota pipeline, for example, crosses disputed Sioux land that was promised to the tribe in the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie but was later taken away. About 2.5 million Native Americans live in the USA today. The biggest tribes are the Cherokee, Chippewa, Navajo and Sioux. About a third of the Indians in the US live on reservations where 'Indian culture' is still preserved to the largest extent they are able. Native Americans still face many problems in today’s America. Unemployment on reservations is about 50%. The income of an Indian family is much lower than that of a white family. Suicide rates are higher than in other places. Some Indians try to reduce their problems by drinking alcohol and taking drugs. "In honor of our future generations, we fight this pipeline to protect our water, our sacred places, and all living beings." ​The Oceti Sakowin Camp is a historic gathering of tribes, allies, and people from all walks of life standing in solidarity to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline. If you really want to 'give thanks', Stand with Standing Rock.  Everyone in this country, for a variety of reasons, will benefit from stopping that pipeline from repeatedly crossing miles of the Missouri River, and that's the truth !!! The typical interaction between Europeans and Indigenous Americans...The massacre at Pavonia - A little-known but bloody episode on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River - enraged and united the rival Native American tribes throughout New Netherland against the Dutch colonists.