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For many Americans, our thoughts drift to North American\u2019s original people only once or twice a year. But thanks to the Cleveland Indians\u2019 World Series appearance and the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, you may have thought about Native Americans at some point before our national holiday. Thanksgiving offers a critical time for many of us to reflect on our nation\u2019s history, says Randy Woodley, a Keetoowah Cherokee and professor of faith and culture at George Fox University. \u201cThanksgiving is a deep mythology within the American psyche,\u201d said Woodley, who suggests that many of us have sanitized the holiday. \u201cFor three days they had this festival and no one questions what happens after,\u201d he said. \u201cThe story is so treacherous and ugly that our mythology only includes what we want to feel good about.\u201d For decades and later centuries after this peaceful and celebratory meal between the Pilgrims and Native Americans, settlers clashed violently with Indians and forcibly converted them to Christianity and \u201ccivilized\u201d them. There was little understanding from Americans that Natives had something to offer them and their culture. They still do, says Woodley: the values of generosity and consensus. Woodley joined Morgan and guest-host Richard Clark to discuss why he himself chooses to celebrate Thanksgiving, how he learned to love Jesus despite the religion\u2019s ugly impact on his ancestors, and the uncomfortable conditions it took for settlers to share their faith with Native Americans.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices