Search: "indian thanksgiving"

Part 4: “indian thanksgiving”

As mentioned, this phrase returns news articles detailing the celebration of Thanksgiving that Native Americans partake in. There were 73 instances where this phrase appears. Notably, there is a repetition in 15 text files of a brief phrase with locations and dates ranging from: 

“Thanksgiving on the Reservation. The spir't of thankfulness pervades the Indian Thanksgiving celebration.”

This clearly highlights the existence of a broad, general pattern in which newspapers throughout the country, in states and territories alike, have extremely similar, if not identical, content regarding Native Americans and Thanksgiving. Interestingly, this particular phrase only appears within a 38-year time range, from 1882 to 1920. Referring once again to the timeline, this was during the implementation of the Dawes Act and Native American Boarding Schools, just prior to the Indian Reorganization Act. Since the corpus extends until 1963, it is possible that the terminology used to describe Native Americans changed as a result of the IRA, which could be why this phrase is only repeated for that period of time.

Additionally, there is a repetition of a news story in 17 text files: 

“A beef isfue [sic] is the most typical and also the most picturesque of Indian Thanksgiving celebrations. For years thje [sic] government has forbidden the issue of beef after the manner of an old time issue, but on especial [sic] occasions they are allowed the amusement of killing their own meat. It is said by the government officers who succeeded in having the practice stopped that beef issues tend to make the Indian wilder and more difficult to civilize.”

This is a direct reference to one of many restrictions imposed by the U.S. government on Native American reservations: they were not allowed to hunt on their land. Even if it was allowed, Buffalo had nearly gone extinct due to overhunting by the U.S. Army in an attempt to starve Native Americans. Hunting is a sustainable way of life, but the U.S. wanted to “civilize” Native Americans and took away their primary food source to force them to assimilate. As such, this made tribes reliant on food rations that were often not enough for the whole community and many people died from malnourishment. The phrase “amusement of killing their own meat” is extremely appalling in light of the suffering that took place on reservations during this time and dramatically oversimplifies the complex relationship between the U.S. government and tribes.

Another reference sticks out: 

“ ‘A Real Indian Thanksgiving’ will be given next week. Pupils of Miss Norma Haskell are making bows and arrows to use in the play.”

This is using common Native American stereotypes, where a variety of complex cultures are reduced to merely bows and arrows, devoid of individuality. In other words, Native Americans are reduced to one large group of people when in reality, tribes are vastly different from each other but perspectives like this fail to take this into account.

Next Page: Regional Differences