Portland State Prof Blames Thanksgiving on Consumerism
If you’re just about to eat Thanksgiving dinner, you may want to save this story for later.
Caitlin Grimes of Campus Reform has the story.
Prof. blames Thanksgiving on consumerism, suggests spirit of holiday is apologizing
The modern portrayal of Thanksgiving is filled with historical inaccuracies based on a consumer culture, according to a professor at Portland State University.
Speaking at California State University at Fresno last week, Dr. Cornel Pewewardy gave a lecture to students titled “How the Grinch Stole Thanksgiving.” Pewewardy spoke about the historical and cultural implications of the holiday.
“Like other holidays, including Christmas and Columbus Day, Thanksgiving is not based on historical accuracy, but rather on the importance and prevalence of maintaining a consumer culture”, Pewewardy, who is a member of both the Comanche and Kiowa tribes, said on Tuesday.
According to The Collegian, CSU Fresno’s student paper, Pewewardy claimed that the holiday in its current form is a “manufacture Thanksgiving” that was born outside of any Native American Culture. He said Native Americans celebrate the holiday in their own unique way, choosing to indulge in prayer and song, instead of consuming massive Thanksgiving dinners.
Pewewardy suggested that the typical image of pilgrims and Native Americans dining together is merely a construct that is meant to reinforce extravagant consumer culture. He insisted that this image is a social construct, meant to distract from guilt from the extensive history of violence and suppression perpetrated upon the Native American people.
“There is truth in reconciliation, just like anything else,” Pewewardy said. “Sitting down with people and saying I’m sorry, that is the spirit of Thanksgiving.”
Prof. blames Thanksgiving on consumerism, suggests spirit of holiday is apologizing (Campus Reform)
Comments
Why would we want to know what a nobody(self proclaimed american Indian) from a crummy school in Oregon said to a dinky school in California about Thanksgiving. Nobody asked this jerk to stuff himself today. He has the right to boycott or ignore the holiday as he will. Actually, if he filled his mouth with turkey, he wouldn’t be able to say anything which would be best for all of us.
From my own reading, I believe Thanksgiving is an English harvest festival brought across the Atlantic by the passengers on the Mayflower. The Puritans, as a religious group, layered a spiritual dimension on top of the ancient harvest festival. Since then in the US, Thanksgiving has become many different things – professional football games between arch rivals, a day of spiritual reflection, a day of readiness for Black Friday, a day of gathering in the company of family and valued friends. Religions often have a day or days set aside in their liturgical year for repentance and reconciliation. Thanksgiving Day is not one of them. If Pewewardy chooses to pursue reconciliation on Thanksgiving Day, he may do so, and nobody will stop him.