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The Thanksgivings
Harriet Maxwell Converse, 1836 - 1903
Translated from a traditional Iroquois prayer
We who are here present thank the Great Spirit that we are here to praise Him.
We thank Him that He has created men and women,
and ordered that these beings shall always be living to multiply the earth.
We thank Him for making the earth and giving these beings its products to live on.
We thank Him for the water that comes out of the earth and runs for our lands.
We thank Him for all the animals on the earth.
We thank Him for certain timbers that grow and have fluids coming from them for us all.
We thank Him for the branches of the trees that grow shadows for our shelter.
We thank Him for the beings that come from the west, the thunder and lightning that water the earth.
We thank Him for the light which we call our oldest brother, the sun that works for our good.
We thank Him for all the fruits that grow on the trees and vines.
We thank Him for his goodness in making the forests, and thank all its trees.
Harriet Maxwell Converse, who was the first white woman elected as a Six Nations Chief, was the author of Sheaves: A Collection of Poems (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1882).
The French named them the Iroquois, but they called themselves the Haudenosaunee which means People of the Longhouse.
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The Great Spirit, known as Wakan Tanka among the Sioux,[1] Gitche Manitou in Algonquian, and in many Native American and First Nation cultures as the divine or the sacred, is the supreme being, God, or a conception of universal spiritual force.[2]
The Great Spirit has at times been conceptualized as an "anthropomorphic celestial deity,"[3] a God of creation, history and eternity,[4] who also takes a personal interest in world affairs and might regularly intervene in the lives of human beings.[3] There have been, and may be, many different speakers for the Great Spirit, each of whom must be dedicated to the preservation of the Native American way of life.[4] The Great Spirit, by way of the spiritual leaders, is looked to for spiritual and cultural guidance on both an individual and community level.[5] Cultural variations among the different Native American Tribes who hold a belief in The Great Spirit have resulted in significantly different stories about this being or these beings, as well as different types of messages being delivered by those seen as prophets or spiritual leaders in these cultures. According to Lakota activist Russell Means, a better translation of Wakan Tanka is the Great Mystery.[6]en.m.wikipedia.org/...
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The Iroquois (/ˈɪrəkwɔɪ/ or /ˈɪrəkwɑː/) or Haudenosaunee (/ˈhoʊdənoʊˈʃoʊni/)[1] (People of the Longhouse) are a historically powerful northeast Native American confederacy. They were known during the colonial years to the French as the Iroquois League, and later as the Iroquois Confederacy, and to the English as the Five Nations, comprising the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca. After 1722, they accepted the Tuscarora people from the Southeast into their confederacy and became known as the Six Nations.
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The Iroquois have absorbed many other peoples into their tribes as a result of warfare, adoption of captives, and by offering shelter to displaced peoples. Culturally all are considered members of the clans and tribes into which they are adopted by families.en.m.wikipedia.org/...
The heart of the Iroquois homeland is located in what is now New York state.www.google.com/…
Like most people in North America l live on stolen lndian land
-(Angmar).dailykos.com/...
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A Thanksgiving bonfire at dawn: celebrating Native American resistance on Alcatraz
While most people are still asleep, thousands gather each year to remember the occupation that helped inspire the modern Native American protest movementwww.theguardian.com/...