Thanksgiving - Honoring the land

I'm reposting a piece I wrote last Year...

As a child in school I remember hearing
of the pilgrims & the "first" Thanksgiving...
Over the years I have heard much debate
over the origins of Thanksgiving.
Now, I am no historian but some things I do know.
I know that however it began,
Thanksgiving was a celebration of the harvest.
A Thank You to Mother earth for Her bounty.
A Thank you to God/Spirit for providing
I know that George Washington first declared it
a day of Nationwide celebration.

This is His proclamation,
"recommend to the people of the United States
a day of public thanksgiving and prayer,
to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts
the many and signal favors of Almighty God,
especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably
to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Today there is separation of church & state.
Today we complicate things.
Today we often forget the roots of Thanksgiving.
For those early people, whether Pilgrim,
Native American, Canadian or Spaniard ;
they were grateful.
They honored the land, first and foremost.
They honored "God"
For providing through the Winter season,
For giving them a place to practice their religious beliefs.

For Me,
I am Grateful each day for the gifts of The Great Mother
I am Grateful for the land I walk upon
I am grateful that I can wear my pentacle publicly
& not fear religious persecution.
Yes, we as a people have far to go
But today, I am grateful.
I offer these words...
This Thanksgiving may we remember this truth
Mother Earth does not belong to us, we area part of the land.
"One does not sell the land people walk on."
..Crazy Horse, Sept. 23, 1875