Teach your kids about gratitude with the Haudenosee Thanksgiving address
by Betsy Shaw posted in Life
November is Native American Heritage Month. I've been reading a ton about "the real first Thanksgiving," which, it turns out, wasn't much at all like the one we learned about in school.
But there's one thing the story got right: the concept of being thankful. Gratitude for the natural environment is something that came naturally to indigenous peoples because they lived so close to the land. The Native Americans not only valued fellow humans as part of their community, but also the trees and animals.
Thinking of our natural environment, even trees and birds, as essential community members is something that also comes natural to children. When kids first start to notice their surroundings, everything they see is fascinating. Remember how long it took to get from point A to point B when your kids were curious toddlers who needed to pay respect to every flower or worm or mud puddle they passed"
Sadly, this curiosity, this sense of wonder for all that is wonderful, gets crowded out by everything else that clamors for our attention in this world. Suddenly, a rock is just a rock and a beautiful yellow Dandelion is just another weed.
In my attempt to learn more about the real Thanksgiving story, I came acrosss the Haudenosee Thanksgiving address: a traditional proclamation of deep gratitude for Mother Earth and all her "inhabitants."
The Thanksgiving address is recited at the opening and closing of large gatherings and spe...
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