Never forget the real history of America
Dec 2, 2009
Statement from Leonard Peltier read by Bert Waters at the 40th National
Day of Mourning, Nov. 26, in Plymouth, Mass.
Greetings and Hoka Hey! I would request everyone who can to stand up for a
few moments. Stand up for our ancestors. Stand up for our children. Stand up
for our country.
To the United American Indians of New England, your supporters, and people
of conscience everywhere: What a great day this is! It’s always good to
see our people come together as one mind, especially at this time. As we have
seen for generations, this week and month American schools will be teaching
students the myth of the pilgrims and Indians celebrating the first
Thanksgiving. Children will be cutting out paper headbands and
“woo-wooing” as they think Indians do—never thinking about
the real Indians who suffered an immigrant onslaught, or the Indians still
here. This process continues the Americans’ bad habit of ignoring or
falsifying their own history. I know it is easier to teach a fairy tale than to
teach that the first Thanksgiving was a celebration of the massacre of
defenseless Indian people, but facts are facts and this country needs to get
them straight!
American families will be gathering and eating too much turkey and watching
football, oblivious to an ongoing struggle for American Indian sovereignty and
self-determination. While it’s always a good idea for people to come
together and celebrate, we Indians offer a caution: Those who forget their
history are doomed to repeat it, or have it righteously inflicted upon them! So
overeaters beware! You never know when your wars, your bigotry, your
poisons—your whole legacy—will come back to haunt you! While you
gorge yourself, we will celebrate today as a day of mourning and fasting for
our ancestors and our land. We know the observation comes before the feast.
As an activist and political prisoner here in the “land of the
free,” I respect and support the mission of UAINE. You, as well as the
American Indian Movement and Indian people of various organizations, have
pursued honorable goals even when you got beaten and oppressed for doing so. We
as Indian people must never let this country or the world forget that we were
here. In your area specifically, Wampanoags, Narragansetts and others
flourished in harmony with the land and sea. We thrived. We welcomed outsiders
and they survived only through our generosity. For our troubles we suffered
unjust wars, had our lands stolen, received disease-infested blankets, and
continue to experience treaty violations. You are at ground zero of our
genocide. You are patient zero.
I know you will never forget or allow others to forget the real history of
America. Let them sit on Plymouth Rock until they see the errors of their ways!
Stay united! Stay committed to the struggle! Never give up the fight! We were
here! We are still here! We will always be here! Shout it with me—HOKA
HEY! Mitakuye Oyasin!
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Leonard Peltier
