Thanksgiving Remixed
By Heather Renkyo Fehst, Executive Director
Here we are, right at the end of autumn. It’s been A LOT this month and I hope that each of you receive some moments of coziness and ease despite all that has occurred this year. We have much to be thankful for at Clouds - an incredible 30 Year Anniversary celebration and Sit-A-Thon, a jukai class receiving the precepts, Taizan receiving dharma transmission, priests taking the next step on their paths through shuso, beautiful community through council practice, processing circles, classes, practice groups, potlucks, and more. We’ve eaten cake together, practiced in sesshin at Clouds and elsewhere. We’ve harvested from our garden and our lives. We’ve laughed and cried and breathed and cleaned and studied and hugged and chanted and we have kept the dharma wheel turning.
I am grateful to each and every one of you, for your practice and your presence.
I’m mindful of how incredible it is that we have our own space to practice in and a non-profit status that allows us to continue to awaken the heart of great compassion and wisdom in Saint Paul and beyond. It’s no easy thing to run a non-profit, and I’m personally grateful to all our amazing volunteers, supporters, members, and our dedicated teachers and wisdom-contributors that make Clouds the special place it is. Huge thanks to our Board and our Bridge Group and to folks who do so many things - bring tea, clean dishes, drop something off in the pantry, offer kind words and bows of respect.
Thanksgiving Remixed
I recently listened to this Throughline podcast on the origins of Thanksgiving as a national holiday - I had no idea that the champion behind this effort was a woman who, during the Civil War, wrote to President Lincoln to ask that this day become a holiday so that all Americans, whatever side they had fought on, could have something in common. I think about how there are random acts of kindness on this day, how neighbors who disagree have a 24-hour policy of détente, how relatives might refrain from arguing (we hope) in order to share a meal in peace.
I also remember the genocide of our Native American siblings, the betrayal of their kindness to white Puritans, and the whitewashing happy story of the so-called “First Thanksgiving.”
It is understandable for folks to feel conflicted about this day.
Listening to the Throughline podcast episode helped me reconsider what this day can mean when Americans are so divided, and what we can revise it to be, honoring what happened to our Native American siblings and owning up to our national karma - and working for justice for our native siblings.
Can we also allow this to be a day set aside for gratitude for what we have, for those we love, and for those who we wish to be free of their suffering? Can we remix this day and separate it from the harmful stories that others perpetuated and remember the women crying out to President Lincoln, begging for a way to bring Americans together, to keep them from killing each other, to begin the long, slow process of healing that is still going on today?
I don’t know. I hope so.
In the meantime, here are some ways to support our native siblings through organizations based in MN that are run by Native people:
Mending The Sacred Hoop: This is an organization based in Duluth dedicated to ending violence against Native American women and children.
American Indian Cancer Foundation: Clouds has been impacted by cancer in a number of ways this year. You might consider a donation to this organization in honor of our members who are undergoing treatment.
Native Governance Center: This organization is committed to helping tribes fight for their rights and “strengthen their capacity to exercise sovereignty.”
I know many of you in our sangha are involved in the work of supporting native siblings. I am inspired by you and grateful for the ways you have helped our sangha work through the harm of white supremacy.
May ALL beings be happy, healthy, safe, and at peace this holiday season.
Heather Renkyo Fehst is the Executive Director of Clouds in Water. She is an author, writing coach, and teacher of many things. Ren works with writers on integrating mindfulness into their writing practice, process, and life. In addition to her work as Executive Director at Clouds in Water, she is a Trained Mindfulness Facilitator through UCLA Mindfulness Awareness Research Center and holds a certificate in Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness. She is also the program director of Rebecca Dykes Writers in collaboration with the Highlights Foundation, where she works with writers who tell stories about trauma for young readers. In her Zen practice, creative work, and service, Ren believes in being a lighthouse for those who are awakening to the gift and challenges of being human on this particular planet, at this particular time. Find out more about Ren and her work at heatherdemetrios.com.