Written by Alyssa Wilson ~ Editor-in-Chief
Photo of National Day of Mourning march. Retrieved from www.culturalsurvival.org.
As a child growing up and attending public school in America, the days leading up to Thanksgiving break were filled with fun crafts and watching movies and videos that depicted a history that is very different from our own.
These shows and movies paint the picture that American colonizers and indigenous people were one big happy family from the start, but that cannot be further from the truth.
Just like many other Americans, I enjoy celebrating Thanksgiving for the reasons of filling my belly with delicious food and reuniting with my loved ones.
However, Thanksgiving, which Indigenous people call their ‘Indigenous Day of Mourning’, may not pass by without recognizing the Indigenous genocide and displacement that American colonizers were responsible for.
We celebrate Thanksgiving once a year and claim our gratitude for feasts, family and more, but we fail to recognize the tribes that have been practicing gratitude day in and day out for longer than America has called this land its home.
Tribes like the Potawatomi and Wampanoag Nations recognize and give thanks for every living thing that they encounter, a way of life that was then stolen by Americans and put into practice once per year.
Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation writes in her book about how she thanks the potatoes on her plate for making a long journey from farm to grocery store to her plate.
Kimmerer learned this practice from her indigenous relatives and tribal leaders who are in partnership with the Earth, always thanking her for what is given and never taking more than half.
She even goes to the extent to thank the tiny granules of sand that make up the glass jar which holds her maple syrup.
Giving thanks in this way is admirable and one that everyone can adopt and appreciate, however Thanksgiving seems to be a contradictory time of year.
We likely waste leftovers that have gone bad a week after Thanksgiving, and we run to see what Black Friday deals are available after exclaiming our gratitude for what we already have.
As you reflect on your Thanksgiving holiday, think about where your food came from, the people that harvested your sweet potatoes and raised your turkey from a hatchling.
Many Americans likely are ancestors of the American colonizers who contributed to the violent crimes against indigenous peoples. So, this holiday season, ask yourself how you are recognizing this history and how it plays a role in how you celebrate the season.
