November 8th was a wake up call for a lot of people, myself included. I sat in my apartment in a state of shock as the results came in. Florida. North Carolina. Ohio. Wisconsin. Michigan. Pennsylvania. How could a misogynistic racist, a narcissistic reality television host, a “blue-collar billionaire,” win the US Presidential Election, I asked myself? I didn’t know then, but I think I understand how now.
Quite simply, it boiled down to the fact that Trump represented change. He was a rejection of the corrupt political and corporate elites (like the Clintons) that had stood by and watched as they worked longer hours for lower wages (as my good friend Bernie would say). They grew frustrated at the fact that their children couldn’t do what they had done, e.g. earn a high school degree or get some college education before coming home and getting a blue collar job and raising a family on it. They were tired of feeling inferior to liberal and intellectual elites who saw them as backwards and politically incorrect.
We among that liberal, intellectual class must acknowledge that these feelings and sentiments are valid, but we cannot allow them to be addressed at the expense of the other problems that are facing us today, namely climate change, racial justice, healthcare, and education reform. Rather than just blocking Trump and his administration from doing what they want, we must come up with different ways of addressing both the issues that his electorate voted on and the issues that we hold dear.
I’ve become convinced over the last few months that the best way to do that is by looking to indigenous communities for a different way of thinking about governance and economic activity. Stepping away from the Republican “liberty” message or the Democratic “justice” narrative, a third-way political movement might center itself around the concept of indigenous “interconnectedness.” If we start by acknowledging that my wellbeing is integrally linked not only to your wellbeing, but to the wellbeing of every person I see or interact with in our community, then the central role of governance becomes one of ensuring each person has what they need to be happy. Not only that, but by starting from a position of interconnectedness, it quickly becomes apparent that my wellbeing is also tied to the health of the ecosystem that we all live in, and to planet that we all share. Interconnectedness lays the foundation for a different way of thinking about politics, one which rejects the notion that it is “every man for himself” and instead says “we’re all here for each other.”
We need a new societal narrative that reinforces the idea that we are all interconnected, to each other and to all of the various lifeforms that populate our environments. This narrative exists among indigenous communities such as the Haudenosaunee, made up of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas of Upstate New York (also known as the Iroquois Confederacy).
In Haudenosaunee society there is something called “The Thanksgiving Address” which is recited at the outset of all social, political, and religious meetings. It is an acknowledgement of all of the gifts that people, animals, and elements of nature provide to one another as members of the community. “The Thanksgiving Address” has been translated into over 40 languages, and when the native writer Robin Wall Kimmerer asked Onandaga Faithkeeper Oren Lyons for permission to write about the Thanksgiving Address, he responded by saying “Of course you should write about it. It’s supposed to be shared, otherwise how can it work? We’ve been waiting five hundred years for people to liste. If they’d understood the Thanksgiving then, we wouldn’t be in this mess.” I’ll take that message to heart and share the full Address below. The English translation I am using was translated and published by John Stokes and Kanawahienton, a member of the Mohawk nation, in 1993. it is quite long, but I feel it is important to include it in its entirety:
Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address:
The People
Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given he duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as people.
Now our minds are one.
The Earth Mother
We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our mother, we send greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
The Waters
We give thanks to all the waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms‐waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of Water.
Now our minds are one.
The Fish
We turn our minds to the all the Fish life in the water. They were instructed to cleanse and purify the water. They also give themselves to us as food. We are grateful that we can still find pure water. So, we turn now to the Fish and send our greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
The Plants
Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come.
Now our minds are one.
The Food Plants
With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting of thanks.
Now our minds are one.
The Medicine Herbs
Now we turn to all the Medicine herbs of the world. From the beginning they were instructed to take away sickness. They are always waiting and ready to heal us. We are happy there are still among us those special few who remember how to use these plants for healing. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the Medicines and to the keepers of the Medicines.
Now our minds are one.
The Animals
We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We are honored by them when they give up their lives so we may use their bodies as food for our people. We see them near our homes and in the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so.
Now our minds are one
The Trees
We now turn our thoughts to the Trees. The Earth has many families of Trees who have their own instructions and uses. Some provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit, beauty and other useful things. Many people of the world use a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind, we greet and thank the Tree life.
Now our minds are one.
The Birds
We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads. The Creator gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader. To all the Birds‐from the smallest to the largest‐we send our joyful greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
The Four Winds
We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help us to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds.
Now our minds are one.
The Thunderers
Now we turn to the west where our grandfathers, the Thunder Beings, live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We are thankful that they keep those evil things made by Okwiseres underground. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers.
Now our minds are one.
The Sun
We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother, the Sun.
Now our minds are one.
Grandmother Moon
We put our minds together to give thanks to our oldest Grandmother, the Moon, who lights the night‐time sky. She is the leader of woman all over the world, and she governs the movement of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time, and it is the Moon who watches over the arrival of children here on Earth. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Grandmother, the Moon.
Now our minds are one.
The Stars
We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like jewelry. We see them in the night, helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to the Stars.
Now our minds are one.
The Enlightened Teachers
We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring teachers.
Now our minds are one.
The Creator
Now we turn our thoughts to the creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.
Now our minds are one.
Closing Words
We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way.
Now our minds are one.
Among the Haudenosaunee, it is not uncommon for people to recite the Address at daybreak, and it sets the tone for all of their interactions during the rest of the day. At the Onondaga Nation School, the Address is recited by children before class each day. By acknowledging the interconnectedness of all beings from such a young age, the members of the Haudenosaunee see the world differently than those children that only grow up saying the Pledge of Allegiance. As Robin Wall Kimmerer writes in her book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants:
“Freida Jacques works at the Onondaga Nation School. She is a clan mother, the school-community liaison, and a generous teacher. She explains to me that the Thanksgiving Address embodies the Onondaga relationship with the world. Each part of Creation is thanked in turn for fulfilling its Creator-given duty to the others. ‘It reminds you every day that you have enough,’ she says. ‘More than enough. Everything needed to sustain life is already here. When we do this, every day, it leads us to an outlook of contentment and respect for all of Creation…. The oratory is more than an economic model; it’s a civics lesson too. Freida emphasizes that hearing the Thanksgiving Address every day lifts up models of leadership for young people: the strawberry as leader of the berries, the eagle as leader of the birds. ‘It reminds them that much is expected of them eventually. It says this is what it means to be a good leader, to have vision, and to be generous, to sacrifice on behalf of the people. Like the maple, leaders are the first to offer their gifts.’ It reminds the whole community that leadership is rooted not in power and authority, but in service and wisdom. ” (111-112)
In addition, she writes that “The Haudenosaunee have been recognized for centuries as masters of negotiation… Not surprisingly, Haudenosaunee decision-making proceeds from consensus, not by a vote of the majority. A decision is made only ‘when our minds are one.’ These words are a brilliant political preamble to negotiations, strong medicine for soothing partisan fervor. Imagine if our government meetings began with the Thanksgiving Address. What if our leaders first found common ground before fighting over differences?” (113)
Can you imagine how differently we would look at the world if we lived by the Thanksgiving Address? I believe such indigenous wisdom is exactly the kind of thing we need to pave a “third-way” political movement in the United States that will restore our connection and duty to one another, clarify our responsibility to the Earth, and guide our political and economic systems in the 21st century. The Haudenosaunee have been successfully governing themselves using the principles of the Thanksgiving Address invoked by the Iroquois Constitution since the 16th century, and that unwritten democratic document was one of the main influences on the framers of the US Constitution. Perhaps, in some small way, integrating the Thanksgiving Address into our way of governing would complete the job the Founders began.
So the next time you get angry at the way things are going in the Age of Trump, remember the Thanksgiving Address, maybe even print off a copy for yourself, and return to work illuminating a new way forward based on interconnectedness, not divisiveness, hate, or intolerance.
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