Wednesday, November 23, 2005
View from the Red Road
“Thanksgiving”
It may have been in 1621 when a boatload of English-speaking pilgrims from England vía Holland aboard the Mayflower boat allegedly feasted with the local Indigenous “Indian” population on the eastern North American continent - and who may have been actually saved by the Indigenous Peoples.
Although the pilgrims, religious and political refugees from England, may have gave thanks for having survived much misery and disease through a relatively safe trans-Atlantic Ocean voyage, the alleged three-day festival would have been more of an observance of a successful harvest season having been granted them by divine providence (or “god”) - not the Indigenous Peoples.
However, many scholars have always told a different story about the original “thanksgiving.” Following a huge massacre of a peaceful Indigneous community by a ruthless group of settlers, the governor of the colony declared a “thanksgiving day” – that the “battle” was “successful.” To this day, many Indigneous peoples “fast” during “thanksgiving” in honor of the murdered ancestors and the corrupted holiday roots.
The year was 1637.....700 men, women and children of the Pequot Tribe, gathered for their "Annual Green Corn Dance" in the area that is now known as Groton, Conn.
While they were gathered in this place of meeting, they were surrounded and attacked by mercenaries of the English and Dutch. The Indians were ordered from the building and as they came forth, they were shot down. The rest were burned alive in the building.
The next day, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared: "A day of Thanksgiving, thanking God that they had eliminated over 700 men, women and children.
For the next 100 years, every "Thanksgiving Day" ordained by a Governor or President was to honor that victory, thanking God that the battle had been won.
Source: Documents of Holland, 13 Volume Colonial Documentary History, letters and reports from colonial officials to their superiors and the King in England and the private papers of Sir William Johnson, British Indian agent for the New York colony for 30years.
Researched by William B. Newell, Penobscot Tribe; Former Chairman of the University of Connecticut Anthropology Department.
National Day of Mourning
http://mytwobeadsworth.com/Thanksgiving2.html
Indigenous Innovation
http://www.canunpa.org/innovation.htm
Imagine a world without CRANBERRIES, PUMPKIN PIE, CORN, POTATOES, chocolate, chewing gum, rubber balls, or copper tubing. Indigenous Red “Indian” Nations of Great Turtle Island (“Indians of the western hemisphere”) invented precursors to all these and made huge strides for the world’s population in health, medicine, spirituality, and agriculture. Their domesticated corn, potatoes, and other foods helped reduce hunger and disease in Europe.
Freeze-Drying The Inca of South America froze potatoes atop high mountains, which evaporated the moisture inside the tubers. Freeze-drying preserved the potatoes for years and helped Spanish colonists to ship "fresh" potatoes all the way back to Europe by boat.
Chewing Gum The first over-the-counter gum was spruce sap, introduced to New England colonists by Indigenous Red “Indian” Nations and Peoples. Even the famous “Wrigley’s Chewing Gum” traces its roots (and fortunes!) to Indigenous innovation, in the form of the key ingredient “chicle” – the Aztec Nation found this latex in the Sapodilla Tree.
Chocolate Two thousand years ago the Maya cooked up Earth's first chocolate from cacao beans. The chocolate of the Maya, Toltec, and Aztec Indians generally took the form of a bitter drink. Sugar was added later to suit European palates.
Vanilla Indians in what is now Mexico were the first to figure out how to turn the pods of the vanilla orchid into the flavor that launched a thousand soft-serve cones. In fact, Indians were so attached to the taste that they kept the recipe under wraps for hundreds of years after the Spanish arrived.
Popcorn Having developed varieties of corn that exploded into a taste sensation, some Indigenous Nations developed equally intriguing methods of cooking the snack. Some Indigenous Peoples shoved a stick through a dried cob and held it over the fire, weenie-roast style. And in what is now referred to as “South America” the Moche Nation made popcorn poppers out of pottery.
Tomatoes, Potatoes, Peanuts, and Corn Nearly half the world's leading food crops can be traced to plants first domesticated by Indigenous Peoples (imagine spaghetti without the tomato sauce!). Indigenous farmers introduced Europeans to a cornucopia of nutritious plants, including potatoes, peanuts, manioc, corn, beans, tomatoes, sunflowers, and yams. Corn was by far the most significant contribution, now grown on every continent except Antarctica.
Strawberries and Blueberries Some of the best known and best liked fruits in the entire world are from Great Turtle Island! (misnomer “western hemisphere”)
Parkas Today's ski jackets owe their origins in part to hooded coats Inuit (“Eskimo”) Nation women fashioned from layers of skins that trapped air for greater insulation. Many parkas were made from caribou, a fur favored for its heat-holding properties.
Snow Goggles Some 2,000 years before goggles became an Alpine fashion must, the Inuit created their own versions. Some examples are carved from walrus tusks, with narrow slits that helped thwart glare from snow and the sea.
Dental Care Indigenous Peoples brushed their teeth with the expertly frayed ends of certain sticks and always maintained exceptional hygiene, bathing daily even during cold winter months. This amazed Europeans who called the warm fall days “Indian Summer” because Indigenous Peoples would take advantage of this time to swim and play in the water – in what was considered too cold by the pilgrims (bathing itself was foreign concept to most Europeans, which is why they explored the world over for perfumes and incense).
Team Sports, Sportsmanship, and Ball Games Hockey and basketball are both adaptations of the Indigenous game of lacrosse! Wayne Gretsky and Michael Jordan are forever grateful to Indigneous Red “Indian” Nations and Peoples each time they visit their enormous bank accounts!
Archaeologists found ancient rubber balls, ceremonial courts, and depictions of ballplayers in Central America, while stick ball (“lacrosse” and a variety of variations of the stick ball games) played an integral part of each Indigenous Red Nation all across Great Turtle Island (misnomer “western hemisphere”) prior to what has come to be called the “columbus invasion.”
To Indigenous Red Nations and Peoples, the world says “THANK YOU!”
For more information on Indigenous Nations and Peoples, see www.1851Treaty.com
It may have been in 1621 when a boatload of English-speaking pilgrims from England vía Holland aboard the Mayflower boat allegedly feasted with the local Indigenous “Indian” population on the eastern North American continent - and who may have been actually saved by the Indigenous Peoples.
Although the pilgrims, religious and political refugees from England, may have gave thanks for having survived much misery and disease through a relatively safe trans-Atlantic Ocean voyage, the alleged three-day festival would have been more of an observance of a successful harvest season having been granted them by divine providence (or “god”) - not the Indigenous Peoples.
However, many scholars have always told a different story about the original “thanksgiving.” Following a huge massacre of a peaceful Indigneous community by a ruthless group of settlers, the governor of the colony declared a “thanksgiving day” – that the “battle” was “successful.” To this day, many Indigneous peoples “fast” during “thanksgiving” in honor of the murdered ancestors and the corrupted holiday roots.
The year was 1637.....700 men, women and children of the Pequot Tribe, gathered for their "Annual Green Corn Dance" in the area that is now known as Groton, Conn.
While they were gathered in this place of meeting, they were surrounded and attacked by mercenaries of the English and Dutch. The Indians were ordered from the building and as they came forth, they were shot down. The rest were burned alive in the building.
The next day, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared: "A day of Thanksgiving, thanking God that they had eliminated over 700 men, women and children.
For the next 100 years, every "Thanksgiving Day" ordained by a Governor or President was to honor that victory, thanking God that the battle had been won.
Source: Documents of Holland, 13 Volume Colonial Documentary History, letters and reports from colonial officials to their superiors and the King in England and the private papers of Sir William Johnson, British Indian agent for the New York colony for 30years.
Researched by William B. Newell, Penobscot Tribe; Former Chairman of the University of Connecticut Anthropology Department.
National Day of Mourning
http://mytwobeadsworth.com/Thanksgiving2.html
Indigenous Innovation
http://www.canunpa.org/innovation.htm
Imagine a world without CRANBERRIES, PUMPKIN PIE, CORN, POTATOES, chocolate, chewing gum, rubber balls, or copper tubing. Indigenous Red “Indian” Nations of Great Turtle Island (“Indians of the western hemisphere”) invented precursors to all these and made huge strides for the world’s population in health, medicine, spirituality, and agriculture. Their domesticated corn, potatoes, and other foods helped reduce hunger and disease in Europe.
Freeze-Drying The Inca of South America froze potatoes atop high mountains, which evaporated the moisture inside the tubers. Freeze-drying preserved the potatoes for years and helped Spanish colonists to ship "fresh" potatoes all the way back to Europe by boat.
Chewing Gum The first over-the-counter gum was spruce sap, introduced to New England colonists by Indigenous Red “Indian” Nations and Peoples. Even the famous “Wrigley’s Chewing Gum” traces its roots (and fortunes!) to Indigenous innovation, in the form of the key ingredient “chicle” – the Aztec Nation found this latex in the Sapodilla Tree.
Chocolate Two thousand years ago the Maya cooked up Earth's first chocolate from cacao beans. The chocolate of the Maya, Toltec, and Aztec Indians generally took the form of a bitter drink. Sugar was added later to suit European palates.
Vanilla Indians in what is now Mexico were the first to figure out how to turn the pods of the vanilla orchid into the flavor that launched a thousand soft-serve cones. In fact, Indians were so attached to the taste that they kept the recipe under wraps for hundreds of years after the Spanish arrived.
Popcorn Having developed varieties of corn that exploded into a taste sensation, some Indigenous Nations developed equally intriguing methods of cooking the snack. Some Indigenous Peoples shoved a stick through a dried cob and held it over the fire, weenie-roast style. And in what is now referred to as “South America” the Moche Nation made popcorn poppers out of pottery.
Tomatoes, Potatoes, Peanuts, and Corn Nearly half the world's leading food crops can be traced to plants first domesticated by Indigenous Peoples (imagine spaghetti without the tomato sauce!). Indigenous farmers introduced Europeans to a cornucopia of nutritious plants, including potatoes, peanuts, manioc, corn, beans, tomatoes, sunflowers, and yams. Corn was by far the most significant contribution, now grown on every continent except Antarctica.
Strawberries and Blueberries Some of the best known and best liked fruits in the entire world are from Great Turtle Island! (misnomer “western hemisphere”)
Parkas Today's ski jackets owe their origins in part to hooded coats Inuit (“Eskimo”) Nation women fashioned from layers of skins that trapped air for greater insulation. Many parkas were made from caribou, a fur favored for its heat-holding properties.
Snow Goggles Some 2,000 years before goggles became an Alpine fashion must, the Inuit created their own versions. Some examples are carved from walrus tusks, with narrow slits that helped thwart glare from snow and the sea.
Dental Care Indigenous Peoples brushed their teeth with the expertly frayed ends of certain sticks and always maintained exceptional hygiene, bathing daily even during cold winter months. This amazed Europeans who called the warm fall days “Indian Summer” because Indigenous Peoples would take advantage of this time to swim and play in the water – in what was considered too cold by the pilgrims (bathing itself was foreign concept to most Europeans, which is why they explored the world over for perfumes and incense).
Team Sports, Sportsmanship, and Ball Games Hockey and basketball are both adaptations of the Indigenous game of lacrosse! Wayne Gretsky and Michael Jordan are forever grateful to Indigneous Red “Indian” Nations and Peoples each time they visit their enormous bank accounts!
Archaeologists found ancient rubber balls, ceremonial courts, and depictions of ballplayers in Central America, while stick ball (“lacrosse” and a variety of variations of the stick ball games) played an integral part of each Indigenous Red Nation all across Great Turtle Island (misnomer “western hemisphere”) prior to what has come to be called the “columbus invasion.”
To Indigenous Red Nations and Peoples, the world says “THANK YOU!”
For more information on Indigenous Nations and Peoples, see www.1851Treaty.com
Monday, November 21, 2005
View from the Red Road
u.s. guilty of genocide, again?!
Both democrats and republicans are complicit in the genocide of Iraqi peoples by the large u.s. oil companies using the u.s. military to “liberate” mideast Iraqi oil so that the lazy citizenry back home can easily drive to work in their pollution-causing, gas guzzlers.
Nuremberg-type trials need to take place to see which u.s. gov’t officials (i.e. president, vice president, senators, cabinet members, etc.) are guilty of ‘war’ crimes - although their has been no official ‘declaration’ of “war” by the u.s. against the tiny, helpless country of Iraq. Iraq, like Vietnam - where Michelin tire company and Exxon oil vied for rubber trees and off-shore oil - is virtually defenseless against the large military complex of the u.s. but manages a respectable guerrilla warfare to maintain some semblance of dignity.
A ‘non-declaration of war’ (in the minds of government officials, anyway) allows the u.s. to detain indefinitely and torture prisoners, exempting captors from charges of prisoner abuse, torture, and other human rights violations – including murder. The 1948 genocide convention was created to prevent Hilter-type abuses and tortures of all human beings, including the likes of Senator John McCain – who now conveniently supports via vengeance and revenge the current human rights violations of “detainees” and “enemy combatants” now that he is free from his captors who abused him.
The primary propagandical excuse for allowing the newly concocted labels of Arab and Persian freedom-fighters who struggle to defend their homelands as “detainees/terrorists/enemy combatants” is that they don’t fight “fair” and wear “uniforms.” So if someone a million times stronger than you with a million times more efficient and available bombs strafes your neighborhood from above and kills a thousand citizens with one swipe – it’s “OK” because they had a uniform on?
Over 179 thousand Iraqi non-military, non-combatant, non-fighting citizens have been killed so far by u.s. bombs and artillery, while only a mere 2,000 u.s. soldiers – all well-equipped, ready, and willing for killing – have lost their lives for the profits and enormous deposits into the big oil bank accounts.
Even so-called liberals like Noam Chompsky do not decry the u.s. having nuclear weapons, but is first in line to ‘warn’ however, that other, smaller, weaker, tiny countries (generally people of color) “shouldn’t have them” – and evidently can’t be trusted like “white people” can with them. This despite the fact that only the u.s. has dropped atom bombs on hundreds of thousands of Japanese family members not long ago. Is it true that all americans are of the belief that “might makes right.”
This corrupted and racist attitude displayed by americans is typical of the current “demo-publican” excuses as they fuel their SUV’s with what is left of depleting mideast oil. Blaming the victim is the status quo of america as they destroy others for their possessions – usually in the name of “god.”
It is not too late! Join the informed, educated, honest, peaceful, and heaven-going by shouting “u.s. out of mideast!”
Both democrats and republicans are complicit in the genocide of Iraqi peoples by the large u.s. oil companies using the u.s. military to “liberate” mideast Iraqi oil so that the lazy citizenry back home can easily drive to work in their pollution-causing, gas guzzlers.
Nuremberg-type trials need to take place to see which u.s. gov’t officials (i.e. president, vice president, senators, cabinet members, etc.) are guilty of ‘war’ crimes - although their has been no official ‘declaration’ of “war” by the u.s. against the tiny, helpless country of Iraq. Iraq, like Vietnam - where Michelin tire company and Exxon oil vied for rubber trees and off-shore oil - is virtually defenseless against the large military complex of the u.s. but manages a respectable guerrilla warfare to maintain some semblance of dignity.
A ‘non-declaration of war’ (in the minds of government officials, anyway) allows the u.s. to detain indefinitely and torture prisoners, exempting captors from charges of prisoner abuse, torture, and other human rights violations – including murder. The 1948 genocide convention was created to prevent Hilter-type abuses and tortures of all human beings, including the likes of Senator John McCain – who now conveniently supports via vengeance and revenge the current human rights violations of “detainees” and “enemy combatants” now that he is free from his captors who abused him.
The primary propagandical excuse for allowing the newly concocted labels of Arab and Persian freedom-fighters who struggle to defend their homelands as “detainees/terrorists/enemy combatants” is that they don’t fight “fair” and wear “uniforms.” So if someone a million times stronger than you with a million times more efficient and available bombs strafes your neighborhood from above and kills a thousand citizens with one swipe – it’s “OK” because they had a uniform on?
Over 179 thousand Iraqi non-military, non-combatant, non-fighting citizens have been killed so far by u.s. bombs and artillery, while only a mere 2,000 u.s. soldiers – all well-equipped, ready, and willing for killing – have lost their lives for the profits and enormous deposits into the big oil bank accounts.
Even so-called liberals like Noam Chompsky do not decry the u.s. having nuclear weapons, but is first in line to ‘warn’ however, that other, smaller, weaker, tiny countries (generally people of color) “shouldn’t have them” – and evidently can’t be trusted like “white people” can with them. This despite the fact that only the u.s. has dropped atom bombs on hundreds of thousands of Japanese family members not long ago. Is it true that all americans are of the belief that “might makes right.”
This corrupted and racist attitude displayed by americans is typical of the current “demo-publican” excuses as they fuel their SUV’s with what is left of depleting mideast oil. Blaming the victim is the status quo of america as they destroy others for their possessions – usually in the name of “god.”
It is not too late! Join the informed, educated, honest, peaceful, and heaven-going by shouting “u.s. out of mideast!”
Thursday, November 17, 2005
View from the Red Road
The True Face of America
The good thing about Bush, Cheney, and the four "R's" - Rumsfeld, Rove, Raymond (Lee, Exxon/Mobil), and Robertson (Pat, weird religious guy), is that they finally put a true face on what is now called "america" (an area currently "occupied" with Indigenous Red “Indian” Nation resources stolen, occupied and extorted daily by both democrats AND republicans).
This exposure to the real face of america (keeping in mind both political “parties” voted for the “war”; undeclared mass murder of Iraqis for oil) can hopefully now allow “americans” to begin to understand what is going on. Such reality can bring what lies deep within their subconscious to the front (denial) and then allow them to begin to work to correct their dysfunctions and wrongdoings - all based on exploiting domesticated animals, greed, god, gold (oil, coal), and Grand Mother Earth.
The current “administration” and their corporate controlled “media” works hard to discourage their citizens from wanting to help their fellow human through social programs (like “social security, welfare, disaster assistance, taxing the rich”, etc.) - a humanistic gesture which is a danger to the greedy corporate “republican administration agenda” mentality permeating throughout the entire government. The current goal of “bush” is to “divert social security funds to big money ‘wall street’ managers bank accounts.”
Social security is in danger as long as there remains a social security “cap” for anyone making over $90 thousand dollars per year - they don't have to pay into social security! If this single aspect of the program was changed, there would never be any concern about the stability of the social security system and it could continue and make money forever.
Contact your local legislator to urge them to change direction and begin to help one another once again instead of providing and facilitating the enormous deposits of cash profits into oil and other executive’s Swiss bank accounts.
The good thing about Bush, Cheney, and the four "R's" - Rumsfeld, Rove, Raymond (Lee, Exxon/Mobil), and Robertson (Pat, weird religious guy), is that they finally put a true face on what is now called "america" (an area currently "occupied" with Indigenous Red “Indian” Nation resources stolen, occupied and extorted daily by both democrats AND republicans).
This exposure to the real face of america (keeping in mind both political “parties” voted for the “war”; undeclared mass murder of Iraqis for oil) can hopefully now allow “americans” to begin to understand what is going on. Such reality can bring what lies deep within their subconscious to the front (denial) and then allow them to begin to work to correct their dysfunctions and wrongdoings - all based on exploiting domesticated animals, greed, god, gold (oil, coal), and Grand Mother Earth.
The current “administration” and their corporate controlled “media” works hard to discourage their citizens from wanting to help their fellow human through social programs (like “social security, welfare, disaster assistance, taxing the rich”, etc.) - a humanistic gesture which is a danger to the greedy corporate “republican administration agenda” mentality permeating throughout the entire government. The current goal of “bush” is to “divert social security funds to big money ‘wall street’ managers bank accounts.”
Social security is in danger as long as there remains a social security “cap” for anyone making over $90 thousand dollars per year - they don't have to pay into social security! If this single aspect of the program was changed, there would never be any concern about the stability of the social security system and it could continue and make money forever.
Contact your local legislator to urge them to change direction and begin to help one another once again instead of providing and facilitating the enormous deposits of cash profits into oil and other executive’s Swiss bank accounts.
