{"id":38147,"date":"2024-11-28T18:18:44","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T23:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/decolonizing-thanksgiving\/"},"modified":"2024-11-28T18:18:47","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T23:18:47","slug":"decolonizing-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/decolonizing-thanksgiving\/","title":{"rendered":"Decolonizing Thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Supporters<\/a><\/p>\n

Supporters of Native Americans pause following a prayer during the 38th National Day of Mourning at Coles Hill in Plymouth, Mass., on Nov. 22, 2007. Denouncing centuries of racism and mistreatment of Indigenous people, members of Native American tribes from around New England will gather on Thanksgiving 2021 for a solemn National Day of Mourning observance. Lisa Poole\/AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

CAMBRIDGE MA \u2013 Thoughtful voices, both Native and non-Native, are articulating a call for a new movement to \u201cdecolonize\u201d 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 \u201cPilgrims and Indians.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Thanksgiving dinner is the main way many celebrate the holiday, and while this festive feast can be linked back to the holiday\u2019s true history, many of the stories told about the first Thanksgiving do not fairly include the indigenous perspective.<\/p>\n

Leading voices of the \u201cdecolonize Thanksgiving\u201d movement encourage all who observe the day to learn the whole, true story of the event that has erroneously been called \u201cThe First Thanksgiving\u201d for generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d said Abbie Adams, a faculty member in the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Department of Anthropology and chair of the Native American Awareness Council.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means going beyond the harmful \u2018pilgrims and Indians\u2019 narrative and focusing on common values: generosity, gratitude, community, and good food,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

According to Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio Whitaker, \u201cThe \u2018(First) Thanksgiving\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019 History of the United States. Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes of Washington), is a researcher and writer.<\/p>\n

Dunbar-Ortiz and Gilio-Whitaker continue, \u201cLike 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). \u2026 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanksgiving is the third in a line of problematic holidays of the fall season \u2013 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\u201d, according to Christine Nobiss, Plains Cree\/Saulteaux of the George Gordon First Nation in Canada.<\/p>\n

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

She continues, \u201cFrom 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 \u2014 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\u2019s real history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no bigger time of myth making and telling lies in the public educational system, and private, in America, than Thanksgiving. \u2026To celebrate the current Thanksgiving mythology is to celebrate the act of land expansion through ethnic cleansing and slavery \u2014 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\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 1972, Cultural Survival (culturalsurvival.org<\/a>) advocates for Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights and supports Indigenous communities\u2019 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<\/a> and-honor-native-peoples thanksgiving<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Chris Newell (Passamaquoddy), the Akomawt Educational Initiative\u2019s Director of Education, (Teaching students the historically accurate story of Thanksgiving) \u201c\u2026broadens 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\u2019t include that, we\u2019re not going to learn from it. That\u2019s such an important takeaway for our educators and our children: When we teach these things, we don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

RESOURCES FOR LEARNING THE TRUE HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING:<\/p>\n

\u201cMake your Thanksgiving more meaningful with history you never knew\u201d at tinyurl.com\/3abeewu8<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe True Indigenous History of Thanksgiving,\u201d at tinyurl.com\/5xyawyc6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDecolonizing Thanksgiving: A Toolkit for Combatting Racism in Schools\u201d at tinyurl.com\/3b-<\/a> 65nxsp<\/p>\n

2. Learn about whose land you are on. Information is easily accessible on the Internet. Include a land acknowledgement at your holiday gathering.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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<\/a> unity-thanksgiving<\/p>\n

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

6. Buy Native this holiday. Check out www.beyondbuckskin.com\/p\/buy-native.html<\/a><\/p>\n

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

8. End Racist Native Mascots in Sports \u2013 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\/<\/a> abolishing-racist-native-mascots toolkit-change<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota Nation), declares, \u201cI want a Thanksgiving where I can be thankful that I live in a world where diversity is celebrated, and where every person\u2019s 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. \u2026 In decolonizing Thanksgiving, we acknowledge this painful past while reimagining our lives in a more truthful manner\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cA 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Contact Grace Terry at gractterrywilliams@gmail.com<\/a>)<\/span> <\/p>\n

The post Decolonizing Thanksgiving<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Supporters of Native Americans pause following a prayer during the 38th National Day of Mourning at Coles Hill in Plymouth, Mass., on Nov. 22, 2007. Denouncing centuries of racism and mistreatment of Indigenous people, members of Native American tribes from around New England will gather on Thanksgiving 2021 for a <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> November 28, 2024<\/p>\n

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