My ex was part Native American born in 61. She acted more ashamed of it and always said she was American when mistaken for Asian descent up North or NA in the South or West. The kids had no problem with their heritage, but felt they need not claim it on applications as they had lived a white privilege life. They preferred my dad's Irish heritage and discovery of family named caves in Ireland.

Just note that the so called Pilgrims settled in already wood cut fields ready for crop planting once used by the natives, most of whom had died from the European scourge of smallpox. Many other European settlers did the same thing.

I work with an Indian health center. Columbus Day is referred to as Indigenous People’s Day by many people. A lot of Natives don’t celebrate Thanksgiving because - well why would they?

Is there any way to get the truth out there into the mainstream?

I share your empathy. There's an excellent book, Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen, that describes several similar periods in American history that get the white wash treatment.

Basically anything you see in a history book, monument, or even our currency, is designed to glorify males of European descent and whatever bloodthirsty greedy carnage they indulged themselves in, generally spun as a holy cause, if only for the sake of the deity Progress. In light of recent happenings in Washington, this will not be ending any time soon as the Smug Rich White Male Privilege Club is alive and well and doing whatever they damn please. I would like to see Andrew Jackson removed from the $20 bill because of his horrendous practices towards the Natives, but again, since similar justifications and lies are greatly appreciated as a means to such ends currently, so I don't see it happening soon.

We came, we saw and we slaughtered. We really need to stop saying we discovered the New World in 1492, it wasn't really a discovery and even if it was there had been Vikings in L'Anse aux Meadows long before that and the Basque fishermen knew well the fishing grounds before Columbus followed an old map and opened the door to the Spanish Conquest of the native peoples who knew where they were all along.

we already have that kind of day for native americans on october 12, which used to be columbus day, at least here in minnesota. thanksgiving can be translated into a general awareness that some of us have it good and others of us don't; we don't have to celebrate the story (i never did).

g