I have been so wrapped up in life, kids and work that I neglected my one year here on the stream which was at the beginning of this month.

When I found blogstream a year ago I found a place where I belong, a place where I could write about anything and I was never judged.

Finding blogstream was a wonderful thing for me. Not only for the venting it allows me to do but most of all for the people that I share this little piece of the internet with.

Without my fellow bloggers I am not sure I would think so highly of this site because it would just be another venting post.

Sometimes I really think of blogstream as a Bermuda triangle of sorts. If you really pay attention to how our fellow bloggers found this site it is usually all the same ‘I don’t know how but I am glad I did’.

The people I have met here on the stream are my family and friends. Thank you so much for all of your love and support.

Thank you for letting me be me and still accepting me all the same. Thank you for letting me take a peek into your lives which in turn broadens my own horizons and knowledge of the world.

THE NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING

On Thanksgiving Day, many Native Americans and their supporters gather at the top of Coles Hill, overlooking Plymouth Rock, for the "National Day of Mourning."

The first National Day of Mourning was held in 1970. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts invited Wampanoag leader Frank James to deliver a speech. When the text of Mr. James’ speech, a powerful statement of anger at the history of oppression of the Native people of America, became known before the event, the Commonwealth "disinvited" him. That silencing of a strong and honest Native voice led to the convening of the National Day of Mourning.

The historical event we know today as the "First Thanksgiving" was a harvest festival held in 1621 by the Pilgrims and their Native American neighbors and allies. It has acquired significance beyond the bare historical facts. Thanksgiving has become a much broader symbol of the entirety of the American experience. Many find this a cause for rejoicing. The dissenting view of Native Americans, who have suffered the theft of their lands and the destruction of their traditional way of life at the hands of the American nation, is equally valid.

To some, the "First Thanksgiving" presents a distorted picture of the history of relations between the European colonists and their descendants and the Native People. The total emphasis is placed on the respect that existed between the Wampanoags led by the sachem Massasoit and the first generation of Pilgrims in Plymouth, while the long history of subsequent violence and discrimination suffered by Native People across America is nowhere represented.

To others, the event shines forth as an example of the respect that was possible once, if only for the brief span of a single generation in a single place, between two different cultures and as a vision of what may again be possible someday among people of goodwill.

History is not a set of "truths" to be memorized, history is an ongoing process of interpretation and learning. The true richness and depth of history come from multiplicity and complexity, from debate and disagreement and dialogue. There is room for more than one history; there is room for many voices.

The National Day of Mourning is an annual protest held on the fourth Thursday of November (known to many as Thanksgiving) in the United States of America since 1970.

The 35th National Day of Mourning was held on Thursday, November 25, 2004, and was dedicated to convicted murderer Leonard Peltier, believed by some (including Amnesty International)^[1] to be a political prisoner. Many American Indians and their supporters will gather at the top of Coles Hill, overlooking Plymouth Rock, just as Wamsutta (Frank B.) James (1923 - February 20, 2001), an Aquinnah Wampanoag elder and Native American activist, did in at the first protest in 1970. Thanksgiving day, for them, is a reminder of the democide of the Native people. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which some Native Americans continue to perceive. The protest is organized by the United American Indians of New England (UAINE).

Thanksgiving to some is not all it is cracked up to be. Anyone who is Native American knows what I mean. All though my Native American blood is traced back through my family’s generations (my great, great grandmother) it is still there.

My Mom began to take me to the National Day of Mourning in Plymouth MA when I was a teen. She taught me what Thanksgiving meant to our ancestors.

It was a day for mourning, a day to remember the ancestors we lost through that time period. Our ancestors who lost their land and were never the same after the pilgrims came into their life.

When I celebrate Thanksgiving I am thankful for what I have and enjoy the time with my family yet I feel the sadness and remember my ancestors. I pray that their spirits are set free from all the pain and heartache from that era.

With Thanksgiving approaching I wanted to take some time to write about what I am thankful for.

·        All though I may not be a millionaire (far from it) I am rich beyond monetary means with love from my children

·        I am thankful to have 4 beautiful children who are healthy

·        We have a roof over our heads

·        We have food to eat

·        I am able to teach my kids right from wrong even though sometimes they fall short of what I teach them

·        I have a job

·        I have my own health

·        I have friends

·        Even though life may be hard I keep on finding the strength to keep on keeping on

·        And so many others

Have a good Thanksgiving everyone!