I updated my turkeys to be historically accurate this year. It turns out that the settlers we now call Pilgrims, first of all did not call themselves that, and secondly did not wear the tall hat with a buckle we have come to associate and include on all Thanksgiving decorations. Why do we do that by the way? What is wrong with natural turkeys? I love nature.
The turkey below was my second attempt. I found out that with felt, just strongly pulling works well enough and the hat came off pretty cleanly. Where the artist had used glue did not come off without seeming like it would tear but I was able to trim off the scraps enough without tearing the turkey’s head and ended up with eyebrows, which are super cute. To be more natural I could take off the vest and remove the basket but I’m not there yet.
The first attempt on my first turkey shown below I used a seam ripper. It was probably too sharp but I was was worried I would tear the felt if I pulled. I tore the felt more with the seam ripper actually…. but it’s okay, since the holes are on the back of its head and I tend to put this turkey on a high shelf during fall anyway.
This year I finally ordered and read 1621 A New Look at Thanksgiving written by Catherine O’Neill Grace for the Plymoth Plantation with National Geographic. Thanksgiving as we know it is a myth, they even use that phrase in the book, Making a Myth. “There were no Indians with woven blankets over their shoulders and large feathered headdresses cascading down their backs. There were no pilgrims in somber black clothes and tall hats with silver buckles, either. The English didn’t call themselves pilgrims at that time. That’s the myth.”
I’ve removed every pilgrim hat from my turkeys. I love to decorate with turkeys for fall, and am working on learning more about the true history of Thanksgiving and Native Americans. Plymouth Plantation (lots of different spellings to reflect the history of that very fact) is a living history site working on sharing both sides of history and not just the white settlers. It’s a gorgeous short book and Austin Public Library carries it though all copies are still in use today. It’s an important part of our history, and as a history major and someone working on equity, truth and justice, I felt it was important to have a hard copy for our family’s library. I’m trying to use the library more and not buy books but sometimes it’s important to me to have a hard copy in the house.
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