Decolonizing Thanksgiving

CAMBRIDGE MA – Thoughtful voices, both Native and non-Native, are articulating a call for a new movement to “decolonize” Thanksgiving, keeping the positive traditions while turning away from damaging stereotypes of Native Americans. Since November is National Native American Heritage Month and also the month of the national observance of Thanksgiving in the U.S., there are many opportunities to move past one-dimensional misrepresentations of “Pilgrims and Indians.”

Within this movement, joyful feasting, family, gratitude, community, and generosity are emphasized while acknowledging Native American history and the valuable contributions Indigenous people have made to western culture. The movement encourages all to enjoy what is positive about the holiday while being informed by indigenous world views, such as balance instead of excess.

Thanksgiving dinner is the main way many celebrate the holiday, and while this festive feast can be linked back to the holiday’s true history, many of the stories told about the first Thanksgiving do not fairly include the indigenous perspective.

Leading voices of the “decolonize Thanksgiving” movement encourage all who observe the day to learn the whole, true story of the event that has erroneously been called “The First Thanksgiving” for generations.

“It is important to set the record straight, acknowledge Native Peoples, debunk myths, and show Native Americans as contemporary people with dynamic, thriving cultures who have profoundly impacted our current food system,” said Abbie Adams, a faculty member in the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Department of Anthropology and chair of the Native American Awareness Council.

“It means going beyond the harmful ‘pilgrims and Indians’ narrative and focusing on common values: generosity, gratitude, community, and good food,” she said.

According to Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio Whitaker, “The ‘(First) Thanksgiving’ story as we know it is a story of unconditional welcome by the indigenous peoples, a feel-good narrative that rationalizes and justifies the uninvited settlement of a foreign people by painting a picture of an organic friendship. A more accurate telling of the story, however, describes the forming of political alliances built on a mutual need for survival and an Indigenous struggle for power in the vacuum left by a destructive century of foreign settlement.”

Dunbar-Ortiz grew up in rural Oklahoma, the daughter of a landless farmer and half-Indian mother. She holds a Ph.D. in history and is the author of the award-winning book An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States. Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes of Washington), is a researcher and writer.

Dunbar-Ortiz and Gilio-Whitaker continue, “Like the Columbus myth, the story of Thanksgiving has morphed into an easily digestible narrative that, despite its actual underlying truths, is designed to reinforce a sense of collective patriotic pride (for colonizers). … In light of the larger history, the simplistic idea that Thanksgiving proves that the Indians welcomed the Pilgrims can be more accurately seen as a temporary chapter characterized by maximized political self-interest on all sides.”

“Thanksgiving is the third in a line of problematic holidays of the fall season – holidays that may seem harmless, but that actually have a grave effect on the well-being of Native Americans. The other two are Columbus Day and Halloween”, according to Christine Nobiss, Plains Cree/Saulteaux of the George Gordon First Nation in Canada.

Nobiss organized Truthsgiving in resistance to Thanksgiving. Her work with Seeding Sovereignty (www.seedingsovereignty.org) is focused on dismantling colonial imperialist institutions and replacing them with Indigenous practices in harmony with the land.

She continues, “From the second Monday of October to the fourth Thursday in November, Native Americans are hammered with a barrage of racially offensive, culturally appropriative, and historically inaccurate inculcations. The list is extensive — Columbus Day parades, statues, speeches, and sales; offensive Halloween costumes; Pilgrim and Indian paraphernalia; and of course, all the parties, events, and classroom activities that even our children are subject to. All of which is an attempt to hide the unpleasant truths about this country’s real history.

“There is no bigger time of myth making and telling lies in the public educational system, and private, in America, than Thanksgiving. …To celebrate the current Thanksgiving mythology is to celebrate the act of land expansion through ethnic cleansing and slavery — most of which happened at the point of a gun. It is masked recognition that this country was founded on the actions of generations of Europeans who depended on the joint violence of genocide of Native Americans and the enslavement of African people to conquer this land, the legacy of which is still felt today”

Since 1972, Cultural Survival (culturalsurvival.org) advocates for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures and political resilience. The organization offers the following suggestions for those who wish to decolonize their personal and family observances of Thanksgiving. For more detailed information, go to www.culturalsurvival.org/news/9-ways-decolonize and-honor-native-peoples thanksgiving

1. Learn the real history from Native perspectives. The true history of Thanksgiving is far more complex than what you may remember hearing while you were tracing your hand to make a turkey in elementary school.

Chris Newell (Passamaquoddy), the Akomawt Educational Initiative’s Director of Education, (Teaching students the historically accurate story of Thanksgiving) “…broadens their understanding of how their state and country came to be, beyond the fairytale. It includes all the good, the bad, the ugly, because if we don’t include that, we’re not going to learn from it. That’s such an important takeaway for our educators and our children: When we teach these things, we don’t teach them as a way to make people feel guilty. The idea is to expose that this happened, to expose that it was probably the wrong decision, and to discuss how we, going forward, can avoid making the same mistakes.”

RESOURCES FOR LEARNING THE TRUE HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING:

“Make your Thanksgiving more meaningful with history you never knew” at tinyurl.com/3abeewu8

“The True Indigenous History of Thanksgiving,” at tinyurl.com/5xyawyc6

“Decolonizing Thanksgiving: A Toolkit for Combatting Racism in Schools” at tinyurl.com/3b- 65nxsp

2. Learn about whose land you are on. Information is easily accessible on the Internet. Include a land acknowledgement at your holiday gathering.

3. Decolonize Your Dinner. Native chefs have created a culinary movement with the goal of getting Indigenous people to honor their ancestors through their dietary choices. Bring Native American dishes to the dinner table. See How to Decolonize Your Thanksgiving Dinner at tinyurl.com/ytnfkatr.

4. Listen to Indigenous Voices. For example, listen to an interview with Cedric Cromwell, the Tribal Council Chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Nation at rights.culturalsurvival.org/we-are-still-here-message unity-thanksgiving

5. Celebrate Native people. For example, read the works of Native authors. See https:// www.britannica.com/top- ic/13-Great-Indigenous-Writers to-Read-and-Celebrate

6. Buy Native this holiday. Check out www.beyondbuckskin.com/p/buy-native.html

7. Share positive representations of Native people. For example, artist Matika Wilbur (https:// matikawilbur.com/) is changing the perceptions of Native and First Nations people.

8. End Racist Native Mascots in Sports – There are still more than 1,000 high school, university and professional teams that continue to have Native American mascots. Though changes have been made at the high school and college levels, at the professional level there has been virtually no change. Start the change in your community. Check out https:// www.culturalsurvival.org/news/ abolishing-racist-native-mascots toolkit-change

9. Attend the Day of Mourning on the East coast or Alcatraz Sunrise Gatherings on the West Coast or find ways to stand in solidarity locally.

Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota Nation), declares, “I want a Thanksgiving where I can be thankful that I live in a world where diversity is celebrated, and where every person’s connection to their food, land, and history is respected and cherished. I would like to be thankful not only for a more inclusive world but for a more accurate accounting of the past. … In decolonizing Thanksgiving, we acknowledge this painful past while reimagining our lives in a more truthful manner….

“This inclusivity and commitment to truth would honor Indigenous people, but also every person on the planet. Banning histories as a righteous crusade to eradicate different opinions is wrong; understanding true histories is necessary….

“A decolonized Thanksgiving could transform a holiday marred by historical amnesia into a celebration of genuine gratitude, unity, and recognition of our rich Indigenous heritage. It would offer a clearer lens through which to see the entire world. Let us drop food and knowledge, not bombs.”

(Contact Grace Terry at gractterrywilliams@gmail.com)

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