The Indian in the Cupboard

How many of you remembering making those “Indian headdresses” and “Pilgrim hats” out of construction paper to celebrate the “first” Thanksgiving? It seemed rather simple. A project that taught us how all the Indians and the Pilgrims got together and became friends. That was history. Pilgrims are history. Indians are history.

What little kids often learn in school is that all “Indians” wear feather headdresses and eat corn. Little kids also often hear about “Indians” only around Thanksgiving.

Indians are a relic of the past, relegated as a figurine toy on a shelf, as was the case in a favorite childhood book, The Indian the Cupboard. Right?

Wrong.

This past weekend was the 14th Annual American Indian Heritage Celebration at the NC Museum of History. Almost 10,000 visitors learned, explored and engaged with native peoples from all over the country. There were dancers and artisans and storytellers. The American Indian cultures are very much alive, vibrant, and modern, as much as they are diverse.

With over 560 federally-recognized tribes (not including non-recognized ones), a major falsehood of simplistic stereotypes is that the American Indian culture is singular and static. Far from the truth. A member of the Cherokee tribe can no easier communicate linguistically with a member of the Navajo tribe than someone from Malaysia and someone from Thailand. While there may be some shared experiences of being native in the U.S., the diversity of the American Indian peoples is of course reflected in the food.

It isn’t all about corn. A great place to experience the different cuisines is at the National Museum of the American Indian. Hands down it is THE BEST food of all the Smithsonians (the others tend to serve standard reheated burgers). The food at the NMAI is fresh and the menu changes with the seasons. The cafe, “Mitsitam” which means “let’s eat!” in the Native language of the Delaware and Piscataway peoples, serve foods from five regions,  from turtle chowder from the Northern Woodlands,  to papusas from South America, to cedar-planked salmon from the Pacific Northwest, to totopos (corn chips) from Meso America, to buffalo chili from the Great Plains.

Despite this diversity, many American Indians grapple with similar issues facing their communities. American Indians have higher rates of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes (twice as high) than the general population. Many of these communities also grapple with other serious issues such as the negative impact of climate change and access (or lack thereof) to educational opportunities. Yet often, because the general population often relegate “Indians” to only historic discussions around Thanksgiving, these issues often get overlooked. These issues are not issues of the past. These are issues of our brothers and sisters today.

A couple weeks ago, the National Congress of American Indians, which represent 250 federally-recognized tribes, celebrated the opening of the first embassy for tribal nations (including Alaskan Natives). Perhaps platforms like this can raise greater awareness of such issues and remind the general population that American Indians are not “all the same,” and certainly not frozen in time.

Let us not gloss over history nor ignore a living people with construction paper headdresses this Thanksgiving. Instead, let’s take this Thanksgiving to give thanks for the colorful richness of our family, friends, neighbors – both familiar and strange – and of course, for the food we are lucky enough to write about, take photos of, and eat.

Popularity: 4% [?]