Saturday, November 18, 2006
MEETING NOTES
People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
November 18, 2006
People for Peace, Justice and Healing met on Sat., Nov. 18, 2006, at Associated Ministries at 10 a.m. Present for check-in: Sheila, Kyle, Louisa, Vivi, Mark, David, Dorothy, Sol, Sallie S., and Rob.
AGENDA
1. THANKSGIVING (Sallie)
[Note from Mark: Based on some research it would appear that many of the assertions
made below are unreliable. They have been excluded from the article on Thanksgiving
on Wikipedia, for example;
see here, where
one commentator wrote about the massacre in question: "As far as I know, no 'Historians'
make the assertion that it should be associated with Thanksgiving. The first proponent
of this (James Loewen) is a sociologist, not a historian." I have been unable to find
any solid confirmation of the research or the sources referred to at the end of the
piece. The most extensive discussion I've found is here.
This piece links to an assertion that William Newell was never chair of the
Anthropology Dept. at the Univ. of Connecticut, in the form of this
statement from
Jocelyn Linnekin: "1. We have no record of a William Newell ever having taught at
the University of Connecticut in any department. Years ago I asked Professor James
Barnett, who would have remembered such things. He did not know of any William Newell.
2. The Department of Anthropology did not exist here until 1971, when it became
independent of Sociology. I was here then. William Newell was not among my colleagues.
I do not understand how he can legitimately claim to be a "former head of the
Anthropology Department" here. 3. Because this item was in wide circulation well
before I became chair in 1981, the assertion that Newell made this statement "recently"
is a distortion. He may have repeated it recently, if he is still above the sod. As
I recall he was at age 84 and holding when I first heard about his claim almost two
decades ago. 4. I know of no incident that exactly fits the description attributed
to Newell. There was in fact the Pequot Massacre of 1637 in the Mystic area that was
perpetrated by the English with Mohegan and Narragansett allies -- no Dutch. It bears
a general resemblance to the Newell story. Soon after the Pequot Massacre there was
also allegedly a statement from the pulpit by one of the Mathers (Cotton?) who called
on his congregation to 'Give thanks to God that on this day we have sent three hundred
heathen souls to hell' or words and numbers to that effect. I cannot give the exact
quote or citation, but I've seen it. -- The Mashantucket Pequot dropped a bundle
in producing a documentary movie of the massacre that is open to the public visiting
the museum. You can simply forward this to the original sender if you want to. I
surely wish there was a way of simultaneously deleting the Newell item from all press
files with a single keystroke. Still, despite the distortions and the questionable
attributions, the item apparently has at least some resemblance to an actual historical
incident that occurred seventeen years after the Pilgrims landed. As a cautionary
footnote to the Thanksgiving over the river and through the woods, it may sharpen
public awareness of the nature of colonial situations. Or not. -- I hope this clears
up the matter for you. Regards, Jocelyn Linnekin/Professor & Department Head
(University of Connecticut). -- Jocelyn Linnekin would appear to exist; see
here. --Mark.] Sallie
read some of the findings attributed to William B. Newell, a member of the Penobscots
and an anthropologist, said to be a former chair of the Dept. of Anthropology of the
Univ. of Connecticut (see above, however), according to whose alleged archival
research the original Thanksgiving was not a festive gathering but rather the
celebration of a massacre of Pequots. The holiday was proclaimed to commemorate
the massacre of 700 men, women, and children gathered for the Green Corn Dance who
were attacked by Dutch and English mercenaries. Newell's work claimed to be based on
archival research, in particular the papers of Sir William Johnson
(1715-1774), who was Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the British
crown. According to this text, the next hundred Thanksgivings were also commemorations
of the massacre, which took place near Groton, Connecticut (which is also, Sallie
pointed out, the birthplace of the U.S. submarine fleet and now the site
of New
Submarine Base New London.) Discussion. -- The
text Sallie
read was from the AIM web site:
"ORIGINS OF THANKSGIVING. The year was 1637.....700 men, women and children of the
Pequot Tribe, gathered for their 'Annual Green Corn Dance' in the area that is now
known as Groton, Conn. While they were gathered in this place of meeting, they
were surrounded and attacked by mercernaries of the English and Dutch. The Indians
were ordered from the building and as they came forth, they were shot down. The rest
were burned alive in the building. The next day, the Governor of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony declared : "A day of Thanksgiving, thanking God that they had eliminated
over 700 men, women and children. For the next 100 years, every 'Thanksgiving Day'
ordained by a Governor or President was to honor that victory, thanking God that the
battle had been won. Newell based his research on studies of Holland Documents and
the 13 volume Colonial Documentary History, both thick sets of letters and reports
from colonial officials to their superiors and the king in England, and the private
papers of Sir William Johnson, British Indian agent for the New York colony for 30
years in the mid-1600s. 'My research is authentic because it is documentary,'
Newell said. 'You can't get anything more accurate than that because it is first
hand. It is not hearsay.' Newell said the next 100 Thanksgivings commemorated the
killing of the Indians at what is now Groton, Connecticut [home of a nuclear
submarine base] rather than a celebration with them. He said the image of Indians
and Pilgrims sitting around a large table to celebrate Thanksgiving Day was
'fictitious' although Indians did share food with the first settlers.
Source: Documents of Holland, 13 Volume Colonial Documentary. History, letters
and reports from colonial officials to their superiors and the King in England
and the private papers of Sir William Johnson, British Indian agent for the New
York colony for 30 years. Researched by William B. Newell (Penobscot Tribe)
Former Chairman of the University of Connecticut Anthropology Department."
(See introductory note for a refutation of the authenticity of these claims.)
2. EARTH COMMUNITY DIALOGUES (Dorothy)
Earth Community is an expression used in the Earth Charter, which People for Peace,
Justice, and Healing formally endorsed in February 2003. Beginning on Tues., Nov. 21,
Dorothy Burkhart will facilitate discussion of David Korten's The Great Turning:
From Empire to Earth Community (Berrett-Koehler Publishers and Kumarian Press,
May 2006). Dorothy said Korten argues that it is very likely that there exist a
sufficient number of people with social and emotional maturity to work together to
change the narrative from Empire to what he calls the Great Turning, and that the
power of "empire" exists only because of peoples' belief in its
narratives. — These "Earth Community Dialogues" will continue
on subsequent Tuesdays (Dec. 5 & 19, Jan. 9 & 23, and Feb. 6) at the Wheelock
Library (3722 N. 26th St., Tacoma). All meetings will begin at 6:00 p.m. and end
about 7:45 p.m. Part of a DVD will be shown. (David Korten was involved in the
drafting of the Earth Charter and is also the author of When Corporations Rule the
World. Korten's new book makes the case for choosing a future Whole Earth
Community grounded in the life-affirming cultural values that are shared by most
of the peoples of the world. For more information, see the web site established
for the book and related projects. People for Peace, Justice, and Healing is a
co-sponsor of this project. For more information, contact Dorothy
at dorothybu1@harbornet.com.)
3. STUDY CIRCLE ON BARACK OBAMA AND THE LEGACY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (Mark)
On Monday at 7:00 p.m. on two successive Mondays at least (Nov. 20 & 27 and Dec. 4)
at the Mandolin Café (3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma), UFPPC's book discussion group 'Digging
Deeper' will discuss the rise to prominence and political prospects of Sen. Barack
Obama in the context of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. The group will examine
The Audacity of Hope, Obama’s just-released bestseller, and his 1995
autobiography, Dreams from My Father, as well as two other books: At
Canaan’s Edge, the recently published concluding third volume of Taylor Branch's
monumental book on "America in the King Years," and Clayborne Carson's edition of
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Participation is free. Some
volumes are available for purchase or borrowing. See
here for more
information.
4. WATADA UPDATE (Sallie)
Update on Lt. Ehren Watada, who appeared
on CNN this week to discuss
his case. Plans are still underway for a Jan. 20-21 the Citizens' Hearing on the
legality of the war, to be held at Evergreen's Tacoma campus, which is in great need
of financial contributions. PPJH will co-sponsor an event at 7:00 p.m. on Dec. 5 at
King's Books, featuring Prof. Michael Honey of the University of Washington Tacoma
showing and discussing his 18-minute video on Watada, "A Soldier's Duty? The Ehren
Watada Story," which can be
viewed here.
5. PEACE TAX (David)
David Lambert has been named by the War Resisters
League to be the Peace Tax Campaign's contact person in Washington's Sixth
Congressional District, and is willing and available to speak to groups. The Peace
Tax, the idea of which goes back to the early 1980s, is embodied in a bill, H.R. 2631,
the "Religious Freedom Tax Fund Bill," which would establish a fund to receive taxes
paid by conscientious objectors to war. Right now about 48% of the federal budget goes
to expenses due to present or past military activities, according to War Resisters
League, though the federal government distorts the presentation of statistics in order
to make this portion to appear to be only 19%. For more information see
here.
6. IMPEACHMENT (David)
The Fellowship of Reconciliation sent Michael Tivana last weekend to speak in Tacoma
about the effort to impeach of the president and vice president of the United States,
which is the object of a grassroots campaign supported by the Center for Constitutional
Rights (whose director, Michael Ratner, was in the news this week for the CCR's support
of a legal proceedings to pursue Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for war crimes
in Germany, under universal jurisdiction. David recommends
the Eastside FOR's Impeach
Bush Petition Page where signatures are being gathered. Eastside FOR is
specifically interested
in state-initiated impeachment.
7. COUNTER-RECRUITMENT (Sallie)
Sallie has been working on counter-recruitment and had an idea: now that the Democrats
control both houses of Congress, portions of the No Child Left Behind Act that require
high schools to give the names of students to military recruiters could be repealed.
Discussion.
8. INDIAN ISLAND (Sol)
On Sept. 23, 2006, Sol was one of several dozen arrested at
the Declaration of Peace
action at Ammunition Depot Indian Island.
There will be a pre-trial hearing on Wed., Nov. 29, at 2:00 p.m. at the Port Townsend
Courthouse (1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend, WA) and supporters are urged to attend,
and also to attend a post-hearing vigil demonstrating support at 5:00 p.m.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. BEYOND OIL -- BELLEVUE (Mark)
On Sun., Nov. 19, 2006, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Washington Physicians for Social
Responsibility while hold a Sunday afternoon "Beyond Oil — Bellevue" conference
featuring Sonia Shah, author of Crude: The Story of Oil (Seven Stories Press,
2004; new edition, 2006). The conference will be held in Fenwick Hall, Bellevue First
Congregational Church, 752 108th Avenue NE, in downtown Bellevue, WA, adjacent to the
Transit Center. It will feature a keynote address and three breakout sessions on the
search for answers to local, national, and international dimensions of the problem of
petroleum dependency and Peak Oil. Mark will lead a breakout session on international
dimensions to the search for solutions. Sponsors include: Washington Physicians for
Social Responsibility, Evergreen Peace and Justice Community, Eastside Fellowship of
Reconciliation, Eastside Earth Education, Veterans for Peace—Chapter 92, and Northwest
Earth Institute. Free and open to the public, donations welcome. More information:
WPSR, 206-547-2630 or wpsr@wpsr.org. This event follows up on the "Beyond Oil"
conference in May 2005 in Seattle that featured Michael Klare, author of Resource
Wars and Blood and Oil.
2. MAXIME HONG KINGSTON (?) READING AND SIGNING
Last week PPJH announced that at 7:00 p.m. on Mon., Nov. 20, noted author Maxine Hong
Kingston will hold a reading and signing of the new book she has edited, entitled
Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace (Koa Books, September 2006). David said
it is possible but not certain that Maxime Hong Kingston herself will appear.
3. FUNDRAISER FOR WATADA-RELATED CITIZENS' TRIBUNAL ON THE IRAQ WAR (Mark)
At 7:00 p.m. on Tues., Dec. 5, at King's Books (218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma;
253-272-8801) there will be a fundraiser to raise money for a Citizen's Tribunal on
the legality of the Iraq war. The event will feature a showing of UW Tacoma Prof.
Michael Honey's 18-minute video on the Iraq war and a panel discussion of the case of
Lt. Ehren Watada. (NOTE: On Thurs., Nov. 9, the U.S. Army announced that Lt. Watada
will face a court-martial for refusing to deploy to Iraq on the grounds that the Iraq
war is illegal under U.S. and international law; no date has yet been set.)
4. BABEL (Rob)
"Babel" is currently showing at the Grand Cinema
in Tacoma. Starring Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Kôji Yakusho,
"Babel" depicts a chain of events that link an American tourist couple's frantic
struggle to survive, two Moroccan boys involved in an accidental crime, a nanny
illegally crossing into Mexico with two American children, and a Japanese teen
rebel whose father is sought by the police in Tokyo. The film has been called
"mesmerizing and emotional." It is directed by Alejandro González Inarritu ("21
Grams," "Amores Perros"). By penetrating different cultures it plays on the ancient
Babel myth. The international ensemble of actors and non-professional actors from
Morocco, Tijuana, and Tokyo offer a dramatic take on cultural diversity, cultural links,
and frontiers. Recommended.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark