An American and New Zealand Thanksgiving

I can’t be home in New Jersey with my family for Thanksgiving this year (got to keep those air miles down!).  They are gathering and I send loving thoughts to them. I also thought it was a good time to stop and give thanks.

Growing up between New Zealand and the US, I sometimes felt funny about the whole Thanksgiving story – especially the role of  the Native American (Indians) – you know, how they saved the settlers by teaching them how to eat corn and turkey and live off the abundant new world they had come to.  Then, some few hundred years later how those Native Americans have seen their land and culture stretched to breaking point. 

One of my favorite courses in University (at Rutgers in New Brunswick, NJ) was Location Conflict with Bill Lake.  I did a special project on the Lakota Sioux, and American Constitutional, Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health legislation. What I learnt back then (1989/90) shocked me into taking a stronger interest in both women’s health and the way we manage industry and land.  Back then, Lakota women had 500 times the US average or fetal death (ie miscarriage and stillbirth) and their neonatal stats were also awful. 

I do not believe these statistics can be separated from the way Uranium tailings were managed (or mismanaged) on their land.  I learnt about WARN (women of All Red Nations) and was inspired by their work  -- read this article about in-situ leach mining contamination on Indian lands, and weep  -- then take action. For anyone who thinks Nuclear is a solution to the climate crisis, I beg you to understand where Uranium comes from, and how it is extracted.

There is no word in the Sioux language which can convey the meaning “to own the earth”.  You can find out more about the History of the American Indian Movement (AIM), here.  When I was 12 years old I read “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown and this classic book still makes compelling reading.  Kiwi-American Anna Paquin was in the movie.  I haven’t seen it, but plan to track it down! 

Hegel  The philosopher said: “What experience and history teach is this -- that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.”  Lets prove him wrong!

On my return to NZ, I went to work for Maruwhenua, the Maori (Indigenous NZ People) Secretariat of the Ministry for the Environment.  I worked on contaminated and sacred sites, visited Marae (tribal meeting houses and communities) and talked with engineers about protecting the Mauri (life giving force) of rivers.  I love living in a land where we strive to be bicultural – even if we have a long way to go.

So this Thanksgiving I have much to be grateful for.  I am grateful for the beautiful planet we call earth (but maybe should be called “water” – I’ll blog on that another day!).  I am grateful for the blossoming of many cultures and traditions – amongst my family, friends and the world around us.  I am grateful for life itself.  I am grateful for my family and the love of friends.  I am grateful for the wonderful team I have around me here at MiniMonos, and I am grateful for the work.  And for the privilege of being part of The Climate Project, the learning I have had, and the relationships I am building. 

What are you grateful for?

Comments

[Melissa]

I feel funny commenting on my own blog - but I cam across this today and thought it should be shared. Who is Pocahontas and what do her people (the Powhatan Nation) have to say about the Disney film? Read this!http://www.powhatan.org/pocc.html