We go behind the headlines of the Dakota Access Pipeline, and find out why the site is sacred ground for the Great Sioux Nation. Plus, thoughts on gratitude.
Pilgrims and Native Americans, Giving Thanks to Different Gods
November 23, 2016
When the Puritans arrived on the shores of Massachusetts in the early 1600s, they brought with them a concept of God totally alien to their new neighbors, the Wampanoag people. For the Puritans, the divine was an all-powerful Father figure. For the Wampanoag, God was a multi-dimensional force of nature, found in the trees, rocks and fields. This Thanksgiving, we explore the faith of the early Native Americans with two guests: a direct descendant of the Wampanoag Nation, and an historian of Native American religious traditions.
Ramona Peters, director of historic preservation for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Clara Sue Kidwell, director of the American Indian Center at UNC Chapel Hill
The classic depiction of the first Thanksgiving, painted around 1915 by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris. His paintings were often historically inaccurate, and this one was no exception. Among other things, the Wampanoag did not wear feathered war bonnets and would not have been sitting on the ground.
Bless This Food
November 25, 2016
Have you ever seen anyone pray before eating their burger combo? Maybe not. But our guest Adrian Butash says, maybe it would be a good idea. The simple act of giving thanks before a meal is one of the most universal prayers, found all over the world and stretching back thousands of years. So before you polish off those Thanksgiving leftovers, we thought we’d pause and reflect on this small act of gratitude.
The cover of 'Afternoon Tea: Rhymes for Children,' 1880.
'Would You Tear up St. Peter's in Rome?' Voices From the Dakota Pipeline Protest
November 25, 2016
This week, we travel to the wide open plains of North Dakota. That's where members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, along with hundreds of protestors from around the country, have gathered to stop construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The tribe says that if completed, the pipeline could pollute their only water source, the Missouri River. Our producer Abigail Holtzman camped out at the site recently to learn why this story isn’t just about oil... it’s about sacred ground.
Rosalyn La Pier, member of the Blackfeet tribe and visiting assistant professor of Women's Studies, Environmental Studies and Native American Religion at the Harvard Divinity School
Poet Joy Harjo: Talking With The Sun
November 25, 2016
And we end our Thanksgiving weekend special with some reflections by poet Joy Harjo. She writes, "To pray, you open your whole self to Sky, to Earth, to Sun, to Moon." It is in the heavens that Harjo finds her belief. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, now living in Hawaii, Harjo is a member of the Muskogee Creek Nation. She shared this essay for the This I Believe series.
Independently produced by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman with Emily Botein, John Gregory and Viki Merrick
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