Okay, anyone who knows me knows I absolutely hate all the anti-Indian crap that goes on in this country, without most people even realizing it's happening. Thanksgiving is a national holiday that celebrates the burning alive of hundreds (around 700) Pequot Indians, and then the Pilgrims gave an official thanks in honor of their God allowing them to commit murder. It's a horrible day, and yet most people have no idea what they're really celebrating. They think it's about some meeting between First Peoples and Invading Peoples, but that's not the case. And we don't learn about this in our history books... rather the books and the lesson plans and the TV and the media continue this myth, regardless of how it affects Native people. This month I saw quite a bit of Native crap, and I started taking photos. Some were directly linked to Thanksgiving - such as the cute little Indian and Pilgrims standing with a turkey between them. This was on a local banks teller window. Nice, huh? I also saw a character dressed as a " chief" for an episode of my (current) favorite show, The Office. (Sigh... I was soooo disappointed!) Another character in Indian Princess costume was in the Click film, again, I was disappointed. I thought that such stereotypes and offensive costuming was disappearing in Hollywood. No such luck. I also went into a local store in Nelsonville, Ohio to find a HUGE wooden Indian statue greeting shoppers at the door, and inside all the dreamcatchers, toys, dolls, puzzles, figurines, and so forth that you see here. Not once did I see anyone portray Native people as anything more than what you see here. What a shame....
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