[nativestudies-l] Announcement: BackStory--History of Thanksgiving--Callers needed

[Alyssa Mt. Pleasant]

 From the H-AmIndian list-serve:

From: Catherine Moore cvmoore at virginia.edu
Date: October 7, 2008
Subject: BackStory--History of Thanksgiving--Callers needed

Greetings H-AMINDIAN Members,

The latest installment of the new public radio show about American
history, "BackStory With the American History Guys" (hosted by Peter
Onuf, Ed Ayers, and Brian Balogh), is a history of Thanksgiving. Here
is a blurb describing the show:

When you think of Thanksgiving, what comes to mind? Turkey on the
table? Football on TV? Dad in a dress? Before the 1900s, it was common
among the lower classes for cross-dressing masqueraders to parade
drunkenly through the city demanding Thanksgiving treats. Our more
solemn Thanksgiving begins not with the Pilgrims, but with the
Victorians, who sought a national holiday honoring home and family.
In 1863, one such Victorian, Sarah Hale, convinced President Lincoln
to declare Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November. So did
Thanksgiving strengthen the Union as Lincoln hoped?  What relation do
Indians have to the holiday in reality and in myth? How readily have
immigrants adopted stuffing and cranberry sauce?  And what are we
celebrating, anyway?

I would like to invite you all to participate as callers on the show
because it is *vital* that the Indian perspective is included in any
discussion of the meaning and history of Thanksgiving. Being a caller
takes about ten minutes and involves asking a question or sharing a
story related to the topic at hand with the (informed and friendly)
hosts and sticking around for the discussion to follow. We are
recording calls this Thursday morning (10/9) from 8-11am EST. If you
are interested, please email me ASAP (cvmoore at virginia.edu) and I can
give you more details. Find out more about the show at
www.backstoryradio.org. *Please feel free to share this announcement
with any friends, family, or colleagues you think might be
interested.* Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.

-- 
Catherine Moore
Assisting Producer of Research
BackStory With the American History Guys
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Radio
145 Ednam Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22903
434-924-4403
www.backstoryradio.org
cvmoore at virginia.edu