Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.
~Maya Angelou

Allegiance to Gratitude

Allegiance to Gratitude is the title of a chapter in the widely discussed book by Robin Wall Kimmerer Braiding Sweetgrass- Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. In that chapter, Kimmerer, a mother, botanist, professor of Environmental Biology at SYNU and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation introduces the Thanksgiving Address used by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, also known as the Iroquois or Six Nations -Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscaora. The people of the Six Nations are from upstate New York and Canada. This message of peace and appreciation for the Earth, also called Greetings and Thanks to the Natural World, is still spoken at ceremonial gatherings and meetings held by the Six Nations. Children also are taught to greet each morning with these words, saying thanks to all living beings. The entire universe -from the sun and the stars to the smallest of plant- is addressed as one great community. Kimmerer calls it a lesson in Native Science as: “.. each element of the ecosystem is named in its turn, along with its function”.
As it was my turn to lead the Awake In the Wild daily nature meditation on November 22, 2021, just a few days before the celebration of Thanksgiving in the United States, I was inspired to use this Native American text. Wanting to avoid any cultural appropriation, I reached out to the Six Nations and explained the context for my use of the text. I was blessed by a response from the Onondaga Historical Association in Syracuse, NY, and a little note of introduction to the text from Onondaga clan mother and teacher, Freida Jacques. She wrote:

“It is imperative that efforts be made to help humans on earth change their values for survival. Appreciating and understanding our total dependency on the earth’s elements working as Creator meant them to be, is one. Our misuse of water and abuse of our air and treatment of animals to name a few reflect this loss of respect for important elements of Creation. If you look at humanity’s recent history on earth it is obvious that respect has been lost for many of the important elements on Earth. In Haudenosaunee culture our Thanksgiving Address helps us remember to be respectful and appreciate Creation.”

So emboldened by the positive reply, the alignment of intentions as well as my understanding of the text as an acknowledgement of our diversity which -like all the wonders of Nature- is truly a gift for which we are thankful, as I did in 2021, I humbly provides here a link to the Thanksgiving Address from the National Museum of the American Indian and the full text below.

“You can’t listen to the Thanksgiving Address without feeling wealthy” writes Kimmerer. And as Freida Jacques explains in Kimmerer’s book:

“It reminds you every day that you have enough. More than enough. Everything needed to sustain life is already here. When we do this, every day, it leads to an outlook of contentment and respect for all of Creation….The Thanksgiving Address is a reminder we cannot hear too often, that we human beings are not in charge of the world, but are subject to the same forces as all of the rest of life.”

And I want to conclude this post with Kimmerer’s last words in her Allegiance to Gratitude chapter:

“Every day, with these words, the people give thanks to the land. In the silence that falls at the end of those words, I listen, longing for the day when we can hear the land give thanks for the people in return.”

I too long for the day when we can hear the land give thanks for the people in return. What about you?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Anne-Marie
Oct 31, 2023 (418.55 ppm of atmospheric CO2, safe level 350 ppm)

Thanksgiving Address