Good morning, I thought others on this list would be interested in the article which appeared in the Plymouth, MA "Old colony" newspaper this morning. Many of us on this list search for the truth and facts in our history. We provide documentation to suppport our findings. How can we let articles like this go unchallenged? It is a well known fact that the Pilgrims and Indians lived in harmony for over 50 years, that the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants gives a scholarship each year to a descendant of the Wampanoag tribe in gratitude for their ancestors help and friendliness. As descendants we know what we owe the Wampanoag tribe for without them it is doubtful our ancestors would have survived.. Diseases were brought by mariners from many foreign countries long before the Pilgrims arrived so why are the Pilgrims blamed? It was because of the sickness that reduced the tribes population many years prior to the Pilgrims arrival that the Indians were cautious and feared the white man. Trouble with the Indians did not begin until years later- after immigrants arrived from many countries - so why are the Pilgrims blamed? Why not study history and put the blame where it belongs and do we really need to blame anyone nearly 400 years later? I wonder how many of the spokesmen are members of the Wampanoag tribe and have really studied the history of the Pilgrims. The rock is a symbol of civil and religous liberty and not to be confused with the problems which arose later with the great migration. I believe we have enough problems in this world without creating more. Relatively yours, Muriel Curtis Cushing PLYMOUTH (Nov. 30) - Car traffic stopped Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, as marchers followed a group of native dancers, who stomped to drum beats along Water Street, in front of Plymouth Rock. The march was part of the United American Indians of New England (UAINE) annual Day of Mourning. Since 1970, the group has gathered on Cole's Hill to hear native speakers and singers. The crowd then marches from Leyden Street to Water Street. Raul Ruiz, a member of the Mexica nation, spoke to the crowd of about 200. "Year after year we come here to celebrate and to mourn," he said. Ruiz spoke of celebrating American Indian culture and heritage, and mourning the arrival of the Pilgrims. With them the Pilgrims brought racism and violence. The rock is a monument to genocide and injustice, he said. "Who wants to break that rock," he shouted to the crowd. "Break it," he said, and the crowd cheered loudly, but did not move. "With our history," Ruiz said, "we will break it. With our love for justice, we will break it. With our dance, we will break it," he said. In 1970, UAINE declared Thanksgiving Day a National Day of Mourning, co-leader Moonanum James said. James' father, Wamsutta Frank James, an Aquinnah Wampanoag man, had been invited to speak at a state dinner, celebrating the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrims arrival. When banquet organizers read James' speech about the Pilgrims' treatment of the the Indians, he was told he would not be allowed to speak. "If my father had been allowed to speak, he would have said, 'Today is a time of celebration for you, but it is not a time of celebrating for me.' " James said he wanted people to know the truth about the settlers' treatment of the Indians. "We are not passive victims. We are like the dirt, like the sand and like the tide. We shall endure. We will stand and walk on liberated ground," he said. "We will speak truth to power." UAINE co-leader Mahtowin Munro said she believes the native struggle is about teaching her children native culture. "They are proud of who they are and skeptical about what they learn in school" she said. "The Pilgrims did not find an empty land any more than Columbus discovered anything. Every inch of this land is native land." This year's Day of Mourning, as in past years, was dedicated to Leonard Peltier, a political prisoner in the eyes of UAINE. A citizen of the Anishinabe and Lakota Nations, Peltier has been in prison for 26 years for the murder of two FBI agents. Peltier remains a Native American rights advocate from behind bars. Andres Araica and his family sang several songs for the cold crowd. Araica said he wanted people to understand the Day of Mourning, and why it existed. As a teacher, he said he hoped people would re-investigate history on their own, rather than believing what they learned from history books. He also said he hoped people did not mistake the speakers' passion for anger. Many in the crowd said learning more about history and the native struggle is what brought them to Cole's Hill that day. Terry O'Brien came from Boston to join the Day of Mourning. "I think that the U.S. needs to admit that the country was built on genocide and slavery," he said. Carver's Kristal Weir said this was her fourth year attending the Day of Mourning. Standing up to protect native heritage is important, she said. While UAINE's protest went on, the Federation of Old Plimoth Indian Tribes occupied a tent on the waterfront down below. Rodney "Randy" Joseph said the Federation has been having its Thanksgiving Day cultural exposition and feast for several years. Joseph and other tribal representatives displayed native artwork, genealogies and histories of native burial sites. Most tourists and locals responded well to the speakers and the march. Tina Schumacher, who was visiting from Plymouth, N.H., said the speeches were "humbling." Schumacher, visiting Plymouth resident Dave Calvin, said it was interesting to see Thanksgiving from a different perspective. There were some, however, who did not receive UAINE's message well. As the crowd assembled at the First Parish Church for a social gathering following the march, one man drove by, honking his horn and holding up his middle finger.

***-----Original Message----- ***From: muriel cushing [mailto:flash1620@comcast.net] ***Sent: Saturday, November 30, 2002 9:28 AM ***To: MAYFLOWER-L@rootsweb.com ***Subject: [MFLR] Fw: *** *** ***Good morning, *** ***I thought others on this list would be interested in the article ***which appeared in the Plymouth, MA "Old colony" newspaper this morning. *** ***Many of us on this list search for the truth and facts in our ***history. We provide documentation to suppport our findings. ***How can we let articles like this go unchallenged? It is a ***well known fact that the Pilgrims and Indians lived in harmony ***for over 50 years, Hi Muriel, Yes, this seems an unfortunate misuse of an attractive public stage. It's unfortunate because the truth could be so much more productive. When this perennial question comes up I like to remember one historical fact. Squanto, the man who may more than any other have saved the settlers, was able to communicate with them and was familiar with their ways because he, along with a couple of dozen others, had been captured by the Englishman Thomas Hunt to be sold as slaves in Spain. Squanto did a lot of traveling among the English in the next half dozen or so years before he reappeared in what had been his home and somehow became perhaps our Pilgrim ancestors' best friend on earth. Is that not amazing? He was kidnapped to be sold as a slave and yet some years later, when he could be said to have had the power to destroy these English at Plymouth he instead taught them how to survive. Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to sow the seeds that grew and nourished them, and it seems as though his example could be a sort of seed as well if only we would all let it be so.