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Wednesday
What Really Happened at the First Thanksgiving? The Wampanoag Side of the Tale
by Gale Courey Toensing 11/23/12 Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com When you hear about the Pilgrims and “the Indians” harmoniously sharing the “first Thanksgiving” meal in 1621, the Indians referred to so generically are the ancestors of the contemporary members of the Wampanoag Nation. As the story commonly goes, the Pilgrims who sailed from England on the Mayflower and landed at what became Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620 had a good harvest the next year. So Plymouth Gov. William Bradford organized a feast to celebrate the harvest and invited a group of “Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit” to the party. The feast lasted three days and, according to chronicler Edward Winslow, Bradford sent four men on a “fowling mission” to prepare for the feast and the Wampanoag guests brought five deer to the party. And ever since then, the story goes, Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. Not exactly, Ramona Peters, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s Tribal Historic Preservation Officer told Indian Country Today Media Network in a conversation on the day before Thanksgiving 2012—391 years since that mythological “first Thanksgiving.” We know what we’re taught in mainstream media and in schools is made up. What’s the Wampanoag version of what happened? Yeah, it was made up. It was Abraham Lincoln who used the theme of Pilgrims and Indians eating happily together. He was trying to calm things down during the Civil War when people were divided. It was like a nice unity story. So it was a political thing? Yes, it was public relations. It’s kind of genius, in a way, to get people to sit down and eat dinner together. Families were divided during the Civil War. So what really happened? We made a treaty. The leader of our nation at the time—Yellow Feather Oasmeequin [Massasoit] made a treaty with (John) Carver [the first governor of the colony]. They elected an official while they were still on the boat. They had their charter. They were still under the jurisdiction of the king [of England]—at least that’s what they told us. So they couldn’t make a treaty for a boatload of people so they made a treaty between two nations—England and the Wampanoag Nation. What did the treaty say? It basically said we’d let them be there and we would protect them against any enemies and they would protect us from any of ours. [The 2011 Native American copy coin commemorates the 1621 treaty between the Wampanoag tribe and the Pilgrims of Plymouth colony.] It was basically an I’ll watch your back, you watch mine’ agreement. Later on we collaborated on jurisdictions and creating a system so that we could live together. What’s the Mashpee version of the 1621 meal? You’ve probably heard the story of how Squanto assisted in their planting of corn? So this was their first successful harvest and they were celebrating that harvest and planning a day of their own thanksgiving. And it’s kind of like what some of the Arab nations do when they celebrate by shooting guns in the air. So this is what was going on over there at Plymouth. They were shooting guns and canons as a celebration, which alerted us because we didn’t know who they were shooting at. So Massasoit gathered up some 90 warriors and showed up at Plymouth prepared to engage, if that was what was happening, if they were taking any of our people. They didn’t know. It was a fact-finding mission. When they arrived it was explained through a translator that they were celebrating the harvest, so we decided to stay and make sure that was true, because we’d seen in the other landings—[Captain John] Smith, even the Vikings had been here—so we wanted to make sure so we decided to camp nearby for a few days. During those few days, the men went out to hunt and gather food—deer, ducks, geese, and fish. There are 90 men here and at the time I think there are only 23 survivors of that boat, the Mayflower, so you can imagine the fear. You have armed Natives who are camping nearby. They [the colonists] were always vulnerable to the new land, new creatures, even the trees—there were no such trees in England at that time. People forget they had just landed here and this coastline looked very different from what it looks like now. And their culture—new foods, they were afraid to eat a lot of things. So they were very vulnerable and we did protect them, not just support them, we protected them. You can see throughout their journals that they were always nervous and, unfortunately, when they were nervous they were very aggressive. So the Pilgrims didn’t invite the Wampanoags to sit down and eat turkey and drink some beer? [laughs] Ah, no. Well, let’s put it this way. People did eat together [but not in what is portrayed as “the first Thanksgiving]. It was our homeland and our territory and we walked all through their villages all the time. The differences in how they behaved, how they ate, how they prepared things was a lot for both cultures to work with each other. But in those days, it was sort of like today when you go out on a boat in the open sea and you see another boat and everyone is waving and very friendly—it’s because they’re vulnerable and need to rely on each other if something happens. In those days, the English really needed to rely on us and, yes, they were polite as best they could be, but they regarded us as savages nonetheless. So you did eat together sometimes, but not at the legendary Thanksgiving meal. No. We were there for days. And this is another thing: We give thanks more than once a year in formal ceremony for different season, for the green corn thanksgiving, for the arrival of certain fish species, whales, the first snow, our new year in May—there are so many ceremonies and I think most cultures have similar traditions. It’s not a foreign concept and I think human beings who recognize greater spirit then they would have to say thank you in some formal way. What are Mashpee Wampanoags taught about Thanksgiving now? Most of us are taught about the friendly Indians and the friendly Pilgrims and people sitting down and eating together. They really don’t go into any depth about that time period and what was going on in 1620. It was a whole different mindset. There was always continued on page 7
www.JulianNews.com
Time To Flip The Switch On Another Holiday Season
Coming soon to a small town near you, Julian's annual Country Christmas Tree Lighting kicks off the holiday season on Saturday, November 28, at 1PM. Visitors and locals alike can thrill to the lighting of the 80 foot cedar tree at 5:30PM in Pioneer Park, and enjoy musicians and dancers all afternoon. New this year is Music on Main! Several performers are providing acoustic sets along Main Street throughout the afternoon, so get out of your postThanksgiving/black Friday blues, and visit Julian's downtown merchants while enjoying this special musical event. Performers at the park this year include: *The Ramona High School Jazz Band Combo *Joe Rathburn *Alan Land and Annie Rettic *Ezza Rose *Jake's Mountain *Way Back Then *Julian Charter School Choir *Ramona/ continued on page 5
1985 November 25, 2015
Julian, CA.
Volume 31 - Issue 16 ISSN 1937-8416
Elisara Runs To State Meet
Girls Basketball
Ethan Elisara finishes at Morley field in Balboa Park on his way to California State meet next Saturday. photo by Chris Elisara
Music On The Mountain
John Foltz At The Keyboard
The Julian Branch and Friends of the Julian Library are pleased to be hosting John Foltz as the Music on the Mountain performer on Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at 6 PM. Foltz is an excellent pianist and keyboard performer in addition to his singing and songwriting abilities. Foltz will be performing holiday music along with some of his own. For John Foltz, fascination with the keyboard started early. “I began noodling around on the piano when I was two or three. I was never one of those kids who wanted to pound on the keys to see how loud and obnoxious I could be – I purposefully sought out sounds that I liked and was always trying to find more of them.” Foltz has been seeking out new sounds ever since, in recent years as both a go-to studio musician and a live performer with local players and producers like Joe Rathburn, Jeff Berkley, and Sven-Erik Seaholm. He has also been playing locally and in North County as a solo artist; he has recorded several albums, singing and playing his own songs, including the excellent 2009 release Grounded and a new full-length CD, Renaissance. Looking at his musical development, Foltz traces the roots to his early teens, after a few years of lessons, when a mentor tried a new approach. “He would have me learn a song as written, and then he would do something that has stuck with me to this day. He would say, ‘Okay, now I want you to take that and re-arrange it into three different styles,’ and so, that really began my love affair with forging out on my own to see what I could do,” Foltz says. “I’ve always been very eclectic, and I take some pride in saying that I can find something to like in absolutely any style of music whatsoever.” Foltz soon became a part of his school’s musical theater department as their primary accompanist, and found his voice. “I had been in choirs since pre-school, but this galvanized my love for singing as strongly as I already had the piano,” he says. He has great talent! Foltz identifies many influences, including Elton John, Bruce Hornsby, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, George Gershwin, composer John Williams, and, perhaps his biggest, Billy Joel. Foltz has attended 15 Billy Joel concerts and often performs his songs as part of a show, “Simon, Mitchel and Joel: Not a Law Firm.” In 2007, Foltz connected with Joe Rathburn and has since become a resource to him and other local musicians as a live and studio keyboardist and singer. He is a regular member of Rathburn’s Folkey Monkey fullband shows and the most used guest host of the venue. “I’ve known Joe since 2007, and he has really been a gift to me. Not only do we share an enormous amount of musical sensibilities, but basically everyone I know in the San Diego music scene came by way of Joe.” Working as a first-call studio musician has its rewards, though some issues persist. “Believe it or not, it’s not that often. No matter how much people say they love the piano, it seems to be used infrequently. I love guitar music – crave it, in fact – but it does sort of force me to relive the awkward high school days and beyond when I was the dorky guy who played piano.” Foltz has released four albums, Renaissance – released in December 2014, Grounded – 2009, A Little Piece of History2002, and Indigo – 2001. He is a positive music performer and his lyrics are thought provoking and make you feel better about your day. Please join us at the Julian Library on Tuesday, December 1 at 6 PM as we welcome John Foltz back to our stage. The library is located at 1850 Highway 78, Julian – next to the High School. For more information, please contact the branch at 760-765-0370.
1. 12 Max Baez 17:17 Francis Parker 2. 12 Tomas Miralles 17:49 La Jolla Country Day 3. 10 Ethan Elisara 17:53 Julian High 4. 9 Kieko Paman 17:56 La Jolla Country Day 5. 11 Hayden Flagg 18:04 Bishops 6. 12 Jackson Daugherty 18:18 La Jolla Country Day 7. 12 Josh Nunez 18:18 Liberty Charter 8. 10 Tanner Penrose 18:18 Francis Parker 9. 9 Evan Truesdale 18:24 Francis Parker 10. 12 Travis Headapohl 18:31 Pacific Ridge other Julian runners: 19. 11 Shane Duffy 19:44 32. 10 Jed Kron 20:34 J 53. 9 Nikolas Carneiro 21:21 85. 9 Austin Szymanski 22:47 104. 9 Ryan Lay 24:09 The team standings: 1. Francis Parker 53 2. La Jolla Country Day 55 3. Bishops 74 4. Foothills Christian 152 5. Julian High 152 6. Liberty Charter 160 7. Pacific Ridge 198 8. Santa Fe Christian 220 9. High Tech High NC 238 10. Christian 313 On the girls side: 1. Francis Parker 39 2. Mountain Empire 56 3. La Jolla Country Day 66 4. Santa Fe Christian 128 5. Pacific Ridge 135 6. Bishops 148 7. Calvin Christian 157 8. Liberty Charter 208 9. Guajome Park Acad 214 10. Julian High 245 Julian runners: 37. 10 Esme Killiane 22:17 60. 10 Juliana Riccio 23:47 72. 10 Chelsea Vickers 25:08 73. 10 Lakota Booth 25:19 81. 10 Taylor Cole 30:42 Ethan will be lone representative for Julian in this years state meet at Woodward Park in Fresno this Saturday the 28th. The Division 5 race is scheduled to start at 12:20. General Admission for spectators is $10.00. Only the top 3 teams in each division compete at Fresno and the top 10 individuals are invited to compete regardless of their team being eligible. Julian has place a runner or the team in either boys or girls State meet with great frequency over the years and Ethan will carry the banner as the Citus league champion as well as Julian’s best. Contact the high school for information on tickets should you wish to attend and cheer him on.
Tuesday, December 1 - 4:00 Mountain Empire Thursday, December 3 - 4:00 @ San Diego Jewish Academy Tuesday, December 8 - 4:00 Escondido Charter Friday, December 11 4:00 @ Rock Academy Friday, January 1 - TBA @ Touranment Friday, January 8 - 5:00 @ Calvary Christian Academy Tuesday, January 12 - 3:00 @ West Shores Thursday, January 14 - 4:00 @ Warner Thursday, January 21 - 4:00 Warner Friday, January 22 - 3:30 @ Gompers Prep
Boys Basketball
Tuesday, December 1 - 5:30 Mountain Empire Thursday, December 3 - 5:30 @ San Diego Jewish Academy Tuesday, December 8 - 7:00 Escondido Charter Friday, December 11 - 4:30 @ Rock Academy Friday, January 12 - TBA @ Touranment Friday, January 8 - 5:00 @ Calvary Christian Academy Tuesday, January 12 - 4:30 @ West Shores Thursday, January 14 - 5:30 @ Warner Thursday, January 21 - 5:30 Warner Monday, January 25 - 5:30 Borrego
Girls Soccer
Thursday, December 3 - 3:15 Brawley Tuesday, December 8 - 3:15 @ Rock Academy Thursday, December 10 - 3:15 Guajome Park Academy Tuesday, December 15 - 3:15 Tri-City Christian Thursday, December 17 - 3:00 @ Brawley Tuesday, January 12 - 3:15 @ Maranatha Christian Friday, January 15 - 3:00 @ Tri City Christian Tuesday, January 19 - 3:15 @ West Shores
Boys Soccer
Monday November 30 - 3:30 O’Farrell Community Thursday, December 3 - 3:00 @ Del Lago Academy Friday, December 4 - 3:15 The Rock Academy Tuesday, December 8 - 3:15 Palo Verde Thursday, December 10 - 6:00 @ Army-Navy Academy Tuesday, December 15 - 3:00 @ Christian Friday, December 18 - 9:00 @ Tournament Friday, December 18 - 2:00 @Tournament Saturday, December 19 - 10:00 @Tournament
Wrestling
Saturday, December 12 - 9:00 Rancho Buena Vista Freshman Thursday, December 17 - 4:30 Tri-meet; Julian Christian, The Rock Academy Wednesday, December 30 - 9:00 Mission Hills Tournament
Country Christmas - Tree Lighting Saturday, November 28 In Pioneer Park