Native Americans, who are gathering in the town where the Pilgrims settled for a solemn National Day of Mourning observance, do not have reason to celebrate on Thanksgiving.
Thursday's noon gathering in downtown Plymouth, Massachusetts, recalled the disease, racism, and oppression the European settlers brought.
It is the 49th year the United American Indians of New England have organized the event on Thanksgiving Day.
Moonanum James, a co-leader of the group, says: "Native people have no reason to celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims."
Participants beat drums, offer prayers, and make public speeches. They also express their solidarity with refugees from Latin America who are being denied entry to the U.S., and condemn pipeline projects and fracking they say needlessly and recklessly degrade the environment.
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