Who Needs Pilgrims? The Truth about the Word Thanksgiving

43 Gill Street,Kingston NY 12401

30 November, 2022

Description

Native Americans in our region did not have any trouble showing gratitude to Great Spirit for the harvest before the pilgrims showed up in 1620. For a thousand years they had an annual gathering called a “gumwin” in which they gave special thanks to The Corn Mother Hwasqueem (and her two sisters beans, and squash) for bringing them abundance the previous year. For several days they would gather outside, rest under the trees, share food from a feast pot, sing songs, hold philosophical discussions about the meaning of life, and dance the Kintekay all night if they wanted to.. and it was all “unplugged” and pilgrim-free. And it wasn’t on the same exact day every year, certainly not on the fourth Thursday of November. (They followed a lunar calendar.) The day and order of events was decided collectively, by free will. Even after 1620 colonists held many different “thanksgivings” for a variety of reasons, not just for defeating the Pequots or Wampanoag's. This event will acknowledge the long history of the Esopus Munsee as stewards of the land surrounding what is currently known as Kingston.