Posted on 11/16/2007 9:43:43 AM PST by Patriot62
SEATTLE – A letter from the Seattle School District is raising some eyebrows about Thanksgiving and how it should be handled in the classroom.
The letter tells school district staff that the holiday is seen by many Native Americans as a "time of mourning."
It all started three years ago when some Native American parents voiced concerns about how Thanksgiving was being observed in Seattle Schools.
"In terms of what they were seeing in some of the use of the feathers and those things because those are of spiritual and ceremonial significance to us," said Willard Bill, Seattle Public Schools.
For the past three years, the Seattle School District has sent a letter to teachers and staff, telling them "Thanksgiving can be a difficult time for many native students."
This year's letter references a Native American historical website that outlines what it calls myths about Thanksgiving.
Myth number 11 – Thanksgiving is a happy time.
That’s much more of a reality to parents we spoke to.
"I don't think that's a myth at all. I think anything you are thankful for is great," said parent D.D. Boutwell.
The letter also asks teachers to understand that Thanksgiving is a "time of mourning" for many Indian people and a "reminder of 500 years of betrayal."
Some parents say it's political correctness gone too far.
"I think it gets to be silly," said parent Deb Bush.
School officials are quick to say that this letter does not signify a first shot fired in a War on Thanksgiving, and they say teachers are not being told to do anything different in the classroom.
"We just want a more inclusive history taught in our schools. Not a feel good to a feel bad history but a more representative history of who our population is," said Bill.
Local Native American leaders add that not everyone in their community sees Thanksgiving negatively, but there is still plenty of hurt that can only be healed by a deeper understanding of our history.
"We need to free ourselves so that we can manifest that true love and kindness and compassion that's necessary to heal the wounds," said said Phil Lane, Jr., United Indians of All Tribes Foundation.
About 1,200 Native American students from 100 tribes are enrolled in Seattle schools.
Please, let it be so!
“VAE VICTUS” - (Woe to the Vanquished).
FR (and the world at large)is full of people who love to hold a grudge over all kinds of slights, no matter how small of old.
Indians are no different.
Pass the stuffing!!
“The letter also asks teachers to understand that Thanksgiving is a “time of mourning” for many Indian people and a “reminder of 500 years of betrayal.”....PITY PARTY ALERT!....They fealt so betrayed, they opened up casinos everywhere!
Stupid people need these administrators to tell them they are victims and how to feel about it.
Here's a suggestion for any libs reading this: $1 tax per meal on Thanksgiving to go to those tribes who don't have casinos. BTW I mourn every time I drive home from a casino.
What a bunch of pure ignorance and white liberal guilt! But this is the way the mentally deranged liberal thinks.
It is PC gone too far.
These people are morons. They need to learn their real history.
In Virginia, the site of the first real Thanksgiving, the Pamunky and Mattoponi American Indian tribes (the politically correct term in Virginia) annually present a "tax tribute" of a turkey and deer to the Governor the day before Thanksgiving.
This is silly. I have not seen better Thanksgiving celebrations than those in Seattle. The few crazies in Seattle have taken over. The schools are becoming “indoctrination centers” with torture soon to follow. The left side of the Cascades is creeping closer to liberal BC.
I have been doing some research, for genealogical purposes,on the Sullivan expedition of the Revolutionary war and I can’t believe the way it is being rewritten as a massacre of the Iroquois Indians instead retribution for the massacre and scalping of women and children by the Iroquois at a village near present day Easton, PA.
They like to write about how the troops, under the direction of George Washington, burned the orchards of the Iroquois. They don’t mention that these orchards were planted by the Indians with the help of the Catholic priests.
If I am Irish Catholic, how many years of mourning am I in?
Start honoring the Treaties you signed and maybe then we will “behave” a bit more to your liking ...
Maybe we can get the liberals to go first. They should have no problem with it, since it can show how much more they care than conservatives do.
Yeah and we'll solve that global warming thingy too.
Thank you! How come no one is ever after the Italian government asking them to apologize for everything the Romans did?
Wouldn’t this violate the liberals idea of seperation of church and state if the Indians view this as a spiritual and religious day of mourning? Guess the only thing that violates that is a Christian holiday, huh?
DANG! That was a rather accurate and savage shot.
Riposte?
Indians, you can call the shots when it’s your land again. That is to say, never.
Agreed. They could have invented ships and created large expeditionary forces and sailed over to Europe to conquer us. But they didn’t. They had more than enough natural resources to get the job done. So why didn’t they?
It’s all sour grapes now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.