#Beyond140: Thanksgiving in 1621 and Standing Rock in 2016, nothing changed.

Thanksgiving in 2016 feels grimmier than ever.

A holiday that we’ve been taught preaches family, friends and feast feels really eerie this year. Not because it’s my first away from home, but because of the root of this holiday and it’s tie to some of the most grotesque events currently happening in the United States.

To refresh the brain, let’s briefly talk about how this holiday came about.

In October 1621, English Pilgrims infamously landed their Mayflower ship in Plymouth Rock after months of strife, starvation and ultimately, death amongst traveling members during their voyage over the Atlantic. Upon arriving in modern day Massachusetts, the Pilgrims were warily welcomed by Wampanoag tribe who still fed, clothed and taught the Pilgrims how to grow food in harsh environments. After signing a treaty that gave the Pilgrims land on Plymouth, Thanksgiving was celebrated as the first harvest for the Pilgrims, culminating in a three-day feast between the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims.

The narrative of 1621 flipped within two years as Pilgrim leader Mather, the Elder gave thanks to his God for destroying the native people to make way for “better growth". The subsequent years and decades after the innocent feast saw the exact opposite of the hospitality shown by the Wampanoag as the native people were quickly wiped off their land through the passing of European diseases, genocide and overall treachery from the European settlers.

As time passed, native people were abused, misled and stripped of their land that we call the United States of America. A land that was once sustained to feed the souls that inhabited it has transformed into a land marred with blood and greed, trickling over to what you see 395 years after the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth Rock.

Today, we’re in the midst of a tragedy on many fronts. Whether it’s police brutality, having the equivalent of a tangerine as the President-elect and the strain of our prison systems, the stories are too much to count.

One of those tragedies hits extra hard today. That one is The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s Litigation on the Dakota Access Pipeline, a story that mirrors the oppression natives have seen since the beginning of European integration.

Having become public knowledge in 2014, a Texas-based oil conglomerate including Phillips 66, Marathon Petroleum and Energy Transfer Partners presented plans for the Bakken pipeline. A 1,172-mile-long, $3.7 billion underground project that breaks directly into sacred native grounds in North Dakota. Basically since the announcement, there have been protests in the Sioux Nation in Standing Rock, North Dakota fighting the imminent contamination of the tribe’s clean water reserves and ancient burial grounds. This plan breaks an 1851 land settlement between the Sioux Nation and the US government which clearly outlines that the land was privately owned by the natives. Strangely mirroring the breaking of treaty committed by the Pilgrims in Plymouth.

To think, the things that we hold near and dear to our hearts as necessities such as clean water and proper grounds for those who’ve passed are being intruded for the sake of oil, which only feeds the pockets of those who’s ancestors decimated this same land nearly 400 years ago.

A deeper dive into the conglomerate responsible for this shows ties to… *can’t believe I have to call him this*… President-elect Donald Trump as his 2016 campaign received $103,000 from Kelcy Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer Partners. Further digging also shows Trump himself owned a stake in Warren’s company, selling it off as this election began.

Since the announcement, natives of Standing Rock and others who’ve flown in have been fighting to cease the construction of this pipeline. This has led to brutal scenes in which police have used physical force and tear gas to move protesters away from a barricaded bridge, which is the main access point to the Sioux reservation as they stand to protect the potential damage that could be done to the Missouri River, ultimately affecting the sustainability of their land.

A North Dakota Access Pipeline protest turned violent: "Please, please stop shooting people with rubber bullets." #DAPL

— BuzzFeed News on Twitter

All of this over crude oil. All of this over more commas in bank accounts.

So this was written as a thought-starter, something digestible to understand the jist of what we’re in. I wanted to give you a perspective that wouldn’t ruin your joyous day or put a Portland-like cloud on your time off. But please don’t be naive.

It’s an ugly time in our world. Hell, maybe it’s always been that way and with the advent of social media we actually see it. Please make sure to at least watch. At least pay attention. And express care for those going through it.

Whether it’s the plight of Native Americans, African-Americans, women, LGBTQ or anything even beyond the borders, take time to read a tweet, express an opinion and support a cause. While you’re feasting and expressing thanks there are people today in Sioux Falls crying and mourning the potential loss of their land, the only thing they have besides family to be thankful for.

While you express what you’re thankful for don’t be scared to express what you’re not thankful for; the things we can’t continue to let just be swept under the rug.

Thanks for your time.