The National Day of Mourning is an annual demonstration, held on the fourth Thursday in November, that aims to educate the public about

Native Americans in the United States Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States ( Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United State ...

, notably the

Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 1 ...

and other tribes of the

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

; dispel myths surrounding the

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

story in the United States; and raise awareness toward historical and ongoing struggles facing Native American tribes. The first National Day of Mourning demonstration was held in 1970 after Frank "Wamsutta" James's speaking invitation was rescinded from a

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

Thanksgiving Day celebration commemorating the 350th anniversary of the landing of the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

''. James instead delivered his speech on

Cole's Hill Cole's Hill is a National Historic Landmark containing the first cemetery used by the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. The hill is located on Carver Street near the foot of Leyden Street and across the street from Ply ...

in Plymouth, Massachusetts next to a statue of

Ousamequin Massasoit Sachem () or Ousamequin (c. 15811661)"Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section),''MayflowerFamilies.com'', web pag was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. ''Massasoit'' means ''Great Sachem''. Mas ...

, where he described Native American perspectives on the Thanksgiving celebrations. The gathering became an annual event organized by the United American Indians of New England (UAINE) and coincides with both Thanksgiving Day in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and with Unthanksgiving Day, an annual ceremony held on Alcatraz Island in California.

History

Frank "Wamsutta" James' speech cancelled

In the fall of 1970, the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

held a commemorative

celebration on the 350th anniversary of the first landing of the ''

''. The event's organizers, including Governor

Francis Sargent Francis Williams Sargent (July 29, 1915 – October 22, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1975. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 63rd Lieutenant Govern ...

, invited Frank "Wamsutta" James to speak at the event. James was the leader of the

Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) ( wam, Âhqunah Wôpanâak) is a Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribe of Wampanoag people based in the town of Aquinnah on the southwest tip of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.

and president of the Federated Eastern Indian League. The event's organizers requested to review James' speech in advance of the event. Once it had been reviewed, James was informed that he would not be permitted to give the speech as written. An alternate speech, written by the event's public relations team, was provided to him. A representative from the Department of Commerce and Development explained to James that

Initial event

Wamsutta Frank James, Tall Oak Weeden, Gary Parker, Shirley Mills, Rayleen Bey, and several other people organized speakers, recruited attendees on a national scale, and arranged accommodations for out-of-town guests. The first National Day of Mourning event was held on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1970 on

in Plymouth, Massachusetts. James delivered an amended speech beside a statue of

, including The event was attended by close to 500 Native Americans from throughout the

and has been held annually on the fourth Thursday in November every year since. James' speech was one of the first public criticisms of the Thanksgiving story from Native American groups.

Later protests

The United American Indians of New England (UAINE) continues to organize the annual National Day of Mourning rally at Cole's Hill. The event's objectives include * Education around the history of the Wampanoag people * Dispelling of the mythology commonly taught as part of the Thanksgiving story * Awareness of historical and ongoing struggles of Native American tribes

Controversy 1995–97

At the 1995 event, protestors dumped sand and seaweed on

Plymouth Rock Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620. The Pilgrims did not refer to Plymouth Rock in any of their writings; the first known writt ...

as part of the demonstration. In 1997, police attacked peaceful National Day of Mourning marchers, which included the use of pepper spray. 25 marchers were arrested and charged with misdemeanor as well as felony crimes. Plymouth agreed to drop the charges in a 1998 settlement with UAINE.

Modern commemoration

The National Day of Mourning protest is held annually at Cole's Hill and is attended by several hundred participants. Estimates of attendance in 2021 range from 1,000 – 2,000. Frank James' son Roland Moonanum James continued to be involved in the event until his death in December 2020, and Frank's granddaughter Kisha James helps organize it in her role as UAINE youth coordinator. Mahtowin Munro has been co-leader since the 1990s. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the rally was held both in-person and virtually, and over 1600 people tuned in to the livestream and more than 20,000 to the online video.

References

External links

United American Indians of New England: Official site

SmokeSygnals National Day of Mourning informational video

Photos: National Day of Mourning 2022
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Day Of Mourning (United States Protest) Public holidays in the United States Indigenous rights protests Observances based on the date of Thanksgiving (United States) Native American genocide Annual protests Thursday observances