» Celebrating Thanksgiving at Taos Pueblo: Something else to be thankful for
THANKSGIVING at Taos Pueblo is something else. It’s no secret many Native Americans have mixed emotions about the holiday. Yet, at Taos Pueblo, people will still be gathering around the table for turkey and pumpkin pie, and gathered around the television for some good ol’ gridiron action, including this Taos guy.
If you’ve ever had the honor of attending one of Taos Pueblo’s feast days, you already know we are a people all about our food. Freshly baked oven bread. Red chile and potato salad. (I mix mine together.) Honey ham; bonein. Pies in every flavor, but mmmm, that wild prune pie! Thanksgiving, as one tribal member states, “Is just another excuse to gather ’round the table with family and munch-out!”
Patrick Winters recalls the camaraderie around the food. “The Thanksgiving meal was always so good, prepped and cooked by my mother, sister and aunts. We had the usual,” says Winters. “We started off by having our late Grandpa Frank Turley cut the turkey into nice even slices, then followed by a prayer which everyone would stand around the table and be present for the blessing from this prayer.” Prayer is an important part of any Taos Pueblo meal.
Janell Floating Flower says, “As we come together around a table with the food we say a prayer for everybody in this world, not just our family, we acknowledge the animals and the environment. We pray for healing and understanding.” You’ll find this prayer spoken at every table in Taos Pueblo, and not just this “turkey day,” but also on most nights.
Mary Esther Winters’ family will also be praying, as they have for generations. “Grandpa would always pray before we ate. In his prayer, he would mention his children, his grandchildren, all his relations and his friends, and then he would give a special thanks for my grandma for taking care of the family and giving him children and thanking her for everything that she does. He would pray for those who could no longer be with us, and for those who could not be with us for that particular day,” says Winters.
As with many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a bittersweet holiday. Many Native Americans, and some tribal members feel like Delbert Standing Rock. “It used to be awesome in grade school. But as I got older and educated, it became a day of recognizing European intent to claim the land as theirs and the atrocities committed against the Native tribes,” says Standing Rock.
It is this kind of ancestral trauma that has been an issue in Indian Country for a very long time. Today, we are beginning to have those deep conversations that cultures and communities need in order to heal, and they are happening more and more frequently.
Janell Floating Flower is an active tribal member, activist, a Pueblo Water Protector, who has stood shoulder to shoulder on the frontlines, with Standing Rock. Floating Flower had this to share about her feeling toward Thanksgiving: “I don’t think of Thanksgiving as a genocide anymore. I mean, I acknowledge it and respect it, but it’s more of a time to come together for a family kind of thing now.”
This is a common attitude amongst Taos Pueblo Tribal members. Patrick Winters says, “Now that I am a grown, active tribal member, and after a few white wisdom strands in my hair, I can say I see things differently now, from back when I was a kid. I know some tribal members, and people in general, feel different about the Thanksgiving holiday for several reasons, but that’s their right to do so. The true meaning of Thanksgiving can differ amongst us Natives, the storyline is somewhat the same across the board for us, but our reasoning to celebrate this holiday can differ, but the majority of us celebrate this holiday, because it brings us all together under one house, at one table.”
(I myself admit, I don’t know how to feel about Thanksgiving; at least not until I can start smelling the stuffing and hearing the Dallas Cowboy’s kickoff!)
So, at Taos Pueblo Thanksgiving is no different from any other Thanksgiving across the cattle guard and like our fellow New Mexicans, this Thanksgiving is a special one for Taos Pueblo. This year’s holidays have been marred by pandemic, and Thanksgiving is next on corona’s list. This year is special because this year we all have much to be thankful for. Though we’ve seen a recent rise in our COVID-19 numbers, I, for one tribal member, am thankful for my tribe’s lower numbers. Many Taos Puebloans are just thankful to here.
Like Nelson Duran, who comments, “This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for family and the people in our lives and the relationships we have with them. I am thankful for the people that are alive with us, and the time we share with them; also, remembering our loved ones who are not here anymore and our relatives who live far, who can’t come home right now. I am thankful to be from Taos Pueblo.”
My fellow Taos Pueblo people. This is me, Snow on the Pine Bow. I, am thankful to be a part of you. And I am thankful that you are a part of me. This year has been, to say the least, discouraging. I ask that you do not lose hope. When the outside world talks about Taos Pueblo, they speak about its beauty, its color, its people. But what makes us beautiful, Taos Pueblo, is our strength and dedication to one another. Together, as one tribe, one mind, heart and soul, we as a people can make it through any darkness. When one mourns, we all do. When one celebrates, it’s for all of us. Just as we pray for the entire world, we pray for one another. Elders, Grandfathers, Grandmothers, Fathers and Mothers, Brothers and Sisters, Aunties and Uncles, Nieces and Nephews, I hope these words have brought you some comfort and are giving you some encouragement. Thank you and …
Can I get an AMEN? It’s ‘bout time to eat! Isn’t it? Have a great Thanksgiving folks.