The Wampanoag People
The Wampanoag People (pronounceed either wamp-a-NO-ag or WAMP-ah-nog) were the first to greet the Pilgrims and celebrate the harvest collectively in what we refer to today as Thanksgiving. In the beginning of the 17th century, at the time of first contact with the English, the Wampanoag lived in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as within a territory that encompassed current day Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The Wampanoag were a horticultural people who supplemented their agriculture with hunting and fishing. Their population numbered in the thousands due to the richness of the environment and their cultivation of corn, beans and squash.
Corn, beans and squash are also referred to as “the 3 sisters” by the Indigenous peoples.
Their villages were concentrated near the coast during the summer to take advantage of the fishing and seafood, but after the harvest, the Wampanoag moved inland and separated into winter hunting camps of extended families. (source: tolatsga.org)
In the Wampanoag way of life, all Beings on Earth were given gratitude for their existence and for their gifts.
According to Plimoth.org, giving thanks for the Creator’s gifts had always been a part of Wampanoag daily life. From ancient times, Native People of North America have held ceremonies to give thanks for successful harvests, for the hope of a good growing season in the early spring, and for other good fortune such as the birth of a child. Giving thanks was, and still is, the primary reason for ceremonies or celebrations.
Locally Grown Organic For The Pilgrims!
Very little is known about the 1621 event in Plymouth that is the model for our Thanksgiving. (credit: Plimoth.org)
Along with the Pilgrims, the honeybee also came to the New World from Europe. The original Thanksgiving fare is thought to have consisted of what was available as opposed to what people enjoyed. The Puritans had suffered famine and with their arrival to The New World, it was also part of their religious beliefs to give thanks to God for the goodness and blessings they received.
The Role Of Honeybees
Today, in America, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, we give thanks to the abundance we enjoy as we indulge in many favorite foods that are made with locally grown ingredients. Many of these foods are made available thanks to the honeybee such as nuts, blueberries, squash, apples, melons, and more! Did you know that honeybees are responsible for one third of the food we eat?
Honeybee pollinating apple blossom.
What Will We Have When The Honeybees Are Gone?
With the rapid rate of honeybee losses, will we be able to enjoy the foods that we love or will we resort to what will only be available? Is this a reversal of fortune due to greed from the commercial agricultural sector which promotes monoculture crops that are chock-filled with systemic pesticides? Time is running out!
Listen To The Interview
In this special series called The Neonicotinoid View Radio Show, hosts, June Stoyer and Tom Theobald will be joined by several beekeepers including Steve Ellis, secretary of the National Honeybee Advisory Board (NHAB), Miles Mcgaughey, President of the Boulder County Beekeepers’ Association, Don Studinski, Chairman of The Pesticide Committee of The Colorado State Beekeepers’ Association and Environmental Author and Honeybee Advocate, Graham White. In this special holiday segment we will take a look at the Thanksgiving fare as it would be with and without the honeybee. Click here to download it on iTunes or listen to it below on the podcast player:
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