I read two articles yesterday that have forever altered how I view Thanksgiving.

Indian Country Today, one of my favorite publications to read, ran an essay by Congressman Joe Baca about today, Native American Heritage Day, and the history behind it. Signed earlier this year by President Obama, the legislation for this remembrance was introduced by Rep. Baca, who also crafted the bill for Native American Day – the fourth Friday in September.

In his essay, Rep. Baca lists a few of the debts we owe to the Native Americans, such as Iroquois influence on our Constitution and the Navajo codetalkers during World War II. He calls on the American public to “take some time to recognize Native American Heritage Day. We must never take for granted the very first inhabitants of this continent – Native Americans, and their many contributions that have greatly enriched the United States.”

Photo: Zig Jackson

This reminded me of a fantastic book that I read several years ago called Native Roots by Jack Weatherford. In it, Weatherford describes in startling detail the many ways American Indians have enriched America:

Woodcraft Indian youth movement, organized by Ernest Thompson Seton and based predominantly on the Native Americans’ harmonious relationship with nature, was a precursor to our Boy Scouts of America.

Tammany Society, the Democratic Party in the 18th century, was named for Chief Tamanend, a Lenni-Lenape leader in the Delaware Valley. Not only did the Tammany Society adopt many Native customs and terms, but Chief Tammany was also elevated to a mythical status, most notably as the “Patron Saint of America.” During a time when our fledgling nation needed a distinct identity, this Native American leader who advocated peace and camaraderie provided us with the perfect symbol.

Because the ‘New World’ presented an unusual array of sights for early European settlers, many Native American words were added into our English language: moose, caribou, raccoon, pecan, mahogany, succotash, avocado, bayou, savanna, podunk, cigar, tobacco, tomato, kayak, canoe, parka, toboggan.

Lewis Morgan, commonly known as the Father of Anthropology, developed a friendship with Ely Parker, a Seneca Indian, and introduced the studies of kinship and human social organization.

El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, a descendent of the Incas, wrote extensively about the history of the U.S. before there was “a single European settlement,” thus preventing wholesale Spanish erasure of names we use today: Ocali (Ocala), Tascaluza (Tuscaloosa), Mauvila (Mobile), and Alibamo (Alabama).

Living in a “Wooden Age”, Native Americans developed effective forest management techniques still employed today, such as controlled fires, controlled replanting and cutting firebreaks through forests.

From 1911, explorations into the Antarctic “rely heavily on the technology, knowledge and culture of the Arctic Inuit.”

All of Chapter 3 is dedicated to the amazing Native women (and some men) who helped guide, and save the butts of, the many, many explorers of the ‘New World.’

…

The essay, and the revisit of the book, thrilled me. They made me thankful that there was a day to honor the Native Americans and thankful for their countless contributions. That’s what these two days were supposed to be about, right? A time to be thankful.

Sure, this Thanksgiving I was thankful for everything from my family, health, and happiness to the joys of having a dishwasher. But the subsequent article I read, by the late University of Buffalo Professor John C. Mohawk, gave me an alternate perspective on the true meaning of thankfulness:

The Indians of the time had a different custom. They recognized that life, all life on the planet, is a miracle of good fortune, that it is dependent on numerous components which include earth and vegetation and water and sun and moon and in all a complex order of higher powers and that humans, as a species which is aware of this good fortune, has an obligation to express a collective statement of gratitude in joyous celebration of the good gifts of the powers of the universe. That, for the Indians, was an important part of their “old time religion.”

The good gifts of the powers of the universe. That is a simple lesson that I can carry with me to make every day Native American Heritage Day.

For other Native American contributions, here is a gallery of beautiful art pieces by Native artists.