From New England to Vietnam: Settler Colonialism in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Thanksgiving is celebrated at the expense of Native Peoples who had to give up their lands and culture for America to become what it is today. –Linda Coombs, a member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe, author, and historian

On the occasion of U.S. Thanksgiving (28.11.24), which became a holiday in 1863, I’m pleased to reprint an essay I wrote about New England and Vietnam published in early 2022. The former is where many of my ancestors settled in the early 17th century and the latter is a country I have called home since 2005.

For many Native Americans, this national holiday is a National Day of Mourning. While I am a descendant of the original settler colonizers whose arrival ultimately marked the beginning of the end for the Native peoples of the region that came to be known as New England, e.g., Francis Cooke, Stephen Hopkins, Elizabeth (Fisher) Hopkins, and Richard Warren, among others, I share in this mourning and profound sense of loss.

Millions of US Americans celebrate the founding of Plymouth, known as “America’s hometown.” It is the source of national myths, including what later evolved into US nationalism. Before it was Plymouth, it was called Patuxet.

The National Day of Mourning dates to 1970 when Frank “Wamsutta” James, the leader of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head and president of the Federated Eastern Indian League, gave a speech in Plymouth on November 26, 1970. Since the event organizers did not give James permission to deliver the speech he submitted, here is an abbreviated version:

We forfeited our country. Our lands have fallen into the hands of the aggressor. We have allowed the white man to keep us on our knees. What has happened cannot be changed, but today we must work towards a more humane America, a more Indian America, where men and nature once again are important; where the Indian values of honor, truth, and brotherhood prevail.

You the white man are celebrating an anniversary. We the Wampanoags will help you celebrate in the concept of a beginning. It was the beginning of a new life for the Pilgrims. Now, 350 years later it is a beginning of a new determination for the original American: the American Indian.

Follow this link to read the speech in its entirety.

As I explain in my article, Thanksgiving and the events surrounding its creation are not just “academic;” for me they’re deeply personal.

Peace, MAA