16x04 - Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow

♪ Butterfly in the sky

♪ I can go twice as high

♪ Take a look

♪ It's in a book

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ I can go anywhere

♪ Friends to know

♪ And ways to grow

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ I can be anything

♪ Take a look

♪ It's in a book

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ Reading rainbow

Hi. You know,
I just love autumn.

Trees are bright with color,
the air is crisp,

And all of my favorite
fruits and vegetables
are ripe and ready to eat.

You know, when I look at
all of these wonderful things
that come from the earth,

It makes me want to stop
and say thanks...

And a lot of people
feel the same way.

One group of native americans,
the iroquois,

Begins each morning
with a message of respect
called giving thanks.

To be a human being
is an honor,

And we offer thanksgiving
for all the gifts of life.

Mother earth, we thank you for
giving us everything we need.

Thank you, deep blue waters
around mother earth,

For you are the force
that takes thirst away
from all living things.

We give thanks to green grasses
that feel so good
against our bare feet

For the cool beauty you bring
to mother earth's floor.

Thank you, good foods
from mother earth,
our life sustainers,

For making us happy
when we are hungry.

Fruits and berries,
we thank you for your color
and sweetness.

We are all thankful
to good medicine herbs
for healing us when we are sick.

Thank you, all the animals
in the world, for keeping
our precious forests clean.

All the trees in the world,
we are thankful for the shade
and warmth you give us.

Thank you,
all the birds in the world,

For singing your beautiful songs
for all to enjoy.

We give thanks to you,
gentle winds,

For bringing clean air
for us to breathe
from the directions.

Thank you,
grandfather thunder beams,

For bringing rains to help
all living things grow.

Elder brother sun, we send
thanks for shining your light
and warming mother earth.

Thank you, grandmother moon,

For growing full every month
to light the darkness for
children and sparkling waters.

We give you thanks,
twinkling stars,

For making the night sky
so beautiful

And for sprinkling
morning dewdrops on the plants.

Spirit protectors
of our past and present,

We thank you for showing us
ways to live in peace and
harmony with one another.

And most of all, thank you,
great spirit,

For giving us
all these wonderful gifts

So we will be happy and healthy
every day and every night.

The earth provides everything
we need in order to live:

The air we breathe,
the water we drink,
and of course the food we eat.

Now, mother nature
may grow the food,
but it's up to us to get it.

There's some fruit that
you can just pluck from a tree,

But others, like cranberries,
are harvested in a way
that will boggle your mind.

On this cranberry farm
in massachusetts,

It's a clear,
golden october morning.

The berries are ripe and ready.

It's time for the beaton family
to begin the harvest.

Man: my dad and his dad
were farmers, and I learned
to love this business.

Second man:
I knew I wanted to be a farmer.

When it was time
to go to college,

Everyone was either going
to be an engineer or a nurse
or whatever,

And I always liked
to be outdoors,

And I had a great opportunity
here with, uh...

Being the fourth generation
in a good-size family business.

Woman: the experience of
working and being out in nature

Is just--is what farming
is all about.

Farmers like to work
with nature,

And it's pitting your knowledge
against your expectations
of nature.

Man: our cranberry bogs
are low-lying pieces of land

That were planted , ,
and even years ago,

And this is where our
cranberries come from today.

The cranberry plant
is a long vine.

When we part
the cranberry vines
and we pick an upright,

We find that we have
on this upright cranberries.

When we split
our cranberry open,

We find it's white inside,
the seeds are red,
and we have air pockets.

These air pockets are what makes
the cranberry want to float

When we flood our bogs
for water harvest.

The first thing we do is
we'll flood the bog with water.

This enables the berries to
flow up on top of the vines.

Then we can come and
b*at them off with machines.

The machines--they'll actually
knock the berries off the vines

Through the bars
and the agitation of the water,

And the berries will float
to the surface.

After we harvest the berries,
the takeoff crew comes behind me

And actually takes them
right off the bog.

Woman: so the berries
are floating, and they're
floating free in the water,

And you need to be able
to control the movement of
the berries to the elevator

In order to get them
into the truck.

How we do that is we take
the rakes and push the berries
up the elevator.

They won't go up by themselves.
You have to push the berries
up the elevator.

Man: my favorite time
of the year is the fall,

Right now during
the harvest season,

Because what we have done
for the last days
is right here before us.

Farming--it's different
from a lot of other businesses.

We work day to day with the land
itself and mother nature,

And if things go right and
mother nature's kind to us,

At the end of the year, which
is this time of year in october,

We can reap our reward,
which is cranberries.

Cranberry bread. That's
what I'm in the mood to eat.

You know, it's true
that nature feeds our bodies,

But in many ways,
it also feeds our souls.

People are inspired by nature,

And potters like
the naranjo family

Even use the earth itself
to create their art.

[Woman chanting
in native american language]

The naranjo family--
dolly, her mother rose,
and her daughter jodie--

Make pots from this earth
on the santa clara pueblo

As their grandmothers
did before them.

Woman: the mixing of the clay
is one of the special parts
of making pottery.

It's cold!

Woman: the types of clay
are mixed together to give
the red clay substance.

I am dolly naranjo.

My family has been making
pottery for generations.

I'll go ahead.

Oh, it's cold.

It's really cold.

The first moment
of stepping into it,
how cold it is--

And after a few moments,
it warms up.

Your body responds to it.

This matter that's
extremely silky and soft--

It becomes a part of you.

It's not quite mixed yet,

Because there are white flecks
in there that you can see,

And if you don't get
the white flecks mixed in,

Then when you're making
the pots, it leaves holes.

When you've got your feet
or your arms in clay,

It truly does feel like
you're in chocolate pudding.

[Chanting]

I learned how to make pots
in the same way

That every child
who makes pottery in the pueblo
learns to make pottery,

Which is by watching and doing.

The clay is so, so special,
and you never waste it.

You never, never throw
any of it away.

You never are disrespectful
to the clay in any way.

Pottery allows me to feel
that I am a part of the world
that we live in,

And it allows me
to be creative,

And it allows me
to express myself.

[Chanting]

When you begin working and
making a pot, it forms itself,

And when the pot is ready to
close, then it comes together,

And when it's finished,
it's finished.

But it's impossible to try
and make a pot be something
that it doesn't want to be.

It's done.

[Chanting]

I have many, many,
many polishing stones.

The stones that I have were
given to me by my mother when
I first started making pottery.

The f*ring is
to harden the pots.

It makes the pots permanent.

The tin is
right there.

[Chanting]

Pottery making is just
simply part of your daily life.

It's what...we do.

It's who we are.

It is our connection
to the earth.

[Chanting]

When you feel close to nature
and realize how much
we depend on it,

You begin to understand
just how important it is
that we take care of the earth.

That's why these new york city
kids are adding a little
greenery to their scenery.

We're planting a tree here
so we can make the street here
look pretty and beautiful.

Um, we can plant
the tree so we're
going to get oxygen.

I'm pulling
the whole ground up!

Whoa!

Trees are great because
they give birds and squirrels
homes to live in,

And they give people shade.

We're planting
trees so we could
save the earth.

[Children talking]

I think we dug
deep enough.

[Cheering]

Straight up to the side,
then we'll turn it around.

Everybody push.

Here we go!

Yay!

Hold on a second.

Oh, no! All the dirt's
going to come out.

Why do you take that off?

Because it holds
the roots together.

They have to take it
off so the roots
spread out.

So in other words,
it makes it grow stronger.

Exactly.

There's a big pile
right over here.

Perfect.
Ok, buddy.

What kind of tree is it?

This is called
a linden tree.

Make sure the tree
is straight.

Is the tree straight?

It's crooked a little.

That's about right?

Yeah.

Ok, let's close it up.
Let's bury it.

Come on, let's go.

Why are
you doing this?

It's for the water
not to go out,

'Cause we don't want
the water to go
anywhere else.

We want it to stay
in the tree.

I'll see. Wait.

All right, we're going
to open the water now.

Ok.

Hot water.
Off, off, off.

Whoopsie!

Oh, man.

Hey, heads up, dudes.

Right here,
right here!

Bring it over!
Bring it over!

I didn't have a turn.

The flower.

Um, I need
to get one now.

Samantha, here.

I got it.

Girl: we're planting
these flowers around the tree--

It's, like, to make a home
so the tree is comfortable
where it is and happy.

Hand me a flower!

In a circle, now.

Make them
nice and pretty.

No, no, no.

[Children talking]

I feel great
about this tree,

And I hope it will stay
healthy and grow
very much tall.

♪ Come, you dreamers,
close your eyes ♪

♪ Dream a dream
of cloudless skies ♪

♪ Dream of oceans
pure and clean ♪

♪ Of the earth alive and green

♪ Dream of fields
and morning dew ♪

♪ Of the world when it was new

♪ Dream of how
it might have been ♪

♪ Could it be that way again?

♪ You mean the world to us

♪ And we who call you earth

♪ Are holding to a dream

♪ The dream of your rebirth

♪ For all you give to us

♪ What's left for us to do

♪ But take you in our hands

♪ And give life back to you?

♪ For all you give to us

♪ What's left for us to do

♪ But take you in our hands

♪ And give life back to you?

The earth is
very precious to us.

It's our wonderful,
beautiful home.

So if it's in your nature
to celebrate nature,

Then here are some books
that you'll be thankful for,

But you don't have
to take my word for it.

Hi, I'm josh, here to tell you
about my first green book.

That's the title,

And if you're interested
in science experiments
and conservation,

Stay tuned,
and I'll tell you more.

In this book, you'll find
many ways to show your concern
for our environment.

There are experiments
you can do, like this one.

It tests for air pollution
in your neighborhood.

All you need are some
jar lids, small labels,
and a piece of cardboard.

In this book, you can find out
what's biodegradable
and what isn't.

Can you pick out which of these
things will rot on their own
and which won't?

Look here and see.

You can spend hours
just leafing through this book.

If you want to learn more ways
to protect our environment,
why don't you try this?

After the program is over,
go to your library and ask for
my first green book.

Hi, I'm victoria.
Let me tell you about
a book called a river ran wild.

It tells the story of a river
that was once beautiful.

In the beginning,
the indians came to live
at the edge of the river.

They respected
the animals and the earth.

Then one day settlers
came to live there.

These people did not
respect the river.

Soon more people
came to live nearby.

They built all these factories
and dumped waste into the river.

The river turned
different colors,
and it smelled really bad.

People who cared protested
and told people not to dump
waste into the rivers anymore.

Then once again
the river was clean.

This story shows that when
people care about the earth,

They can clean it up
and keep it that way.

Now that's beautiful.

Hi, I'm peter marino. I just
read the tremendous tree book.

It's a great book
for nature lovers.

It explains a lot about trees
and how they reproduce,
or make more trees.

It shows how
you can tell trees apart

By looking at their leaves,

And throughout the book,
there are all kinds of
cartoon animals to guide you.

The smallest tree
is an arctic birch.

The biggest tree
is the giant sequoia.

It weighs , tons.

How they ever found out how much
it weighs, I don't know.

Trees are very important.

This book gives you
some good reasons to protect
and preserve them.

Why don't you pick up a copy?

Mmm! Fresh, hot cranberry bread.

I've got a few for my friends
and...

One for me.

You know, when you stop
and think about it,

We have so many reasons
to value this earth.

It's full of beauty and wonder,
and it gives us everything
we need in order to survive,

And in return, it's up
to us to take care of it,

And when we do, well...

That's one of the best ways
we can say thanks.

I'll see you next time.

♪ Butterfly
in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high

♪ Take a look

♪ It's in a book

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ I can go anywhere

♪ Friends to know

♪ And ways to grow

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ I can be anything

♪ Take a look

♪ It's in a book

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ A reading rainbow

♪ A reading rainbow ♪