Indians Observe Day Of Mourning 25 Arrested Trying To March Through Birthplace Of Thanksgiving

An annual American Indian gathering in this town where Thanksgiving began turned violent Thursday when police confronted a group of Indians trying to march through the center of town.

Twenty-five protesters, many of them members of the United American Indians of New England gathering for what they called a National Day of Mourning, were arrested and face charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, police said.

Witnesses said the disturbance began when Indian protesters and hundreds of supporters tried to march through the historic center of Plymouth.

Chris Groden, an American Indian, said police sprayed mace directly into several people’s eyes.

Earlier in the day a group re-enacting the first Thanksgiving marched down the same road dressed in traditional Pilgrim costumes in an annual event called the Pilgrim Progress walk.

Groden said he objected to that walk because the people portraying Pilgrims show up “with a Bible in one hand and a musket in the other. And guess who the musket was aimed at?”

Members of the Plymouth Historical Alliance said earlier this week that they have tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a compromise with the Indians.

No Historical Alliance members could be reached after the disturbance.