NOVEMBER IS A MONTH...
for recognizing and celebrating Native American Heritage. For many of us, one month seems like not enough. But I doubt that any of the people who advocated for this kind of national recognition were thinking to themselves, 'This will be enough.' My guess is, they knew it would be the beginning. A place to start. A touchpoint for the remainder of the year.
That's exactly what we are aiming for when we talk about reimagining Thanksgiving. How can we build a foundation for cultural change through personal habits and individual actions? It's a question that we shared with this community two weeks ago, and we have been pondering the responses ever since.
Sometimes it is the uncertainty, and the willingness to grapple with a question, that is most meaningful. This week, we want to share just a taste of the inspiration - and additional questions - that those responses sparked. We look forward to sharing them in more depth as the calendar days fly away, and we hope you'll continue to reach out with your own thoughts, ideas, and questions.
You are reimagining Thanksgiving by...
Choosing to spend the day volunteering my time to serve others. ...rather than celebrating a holiday with complicated roots, [we] are going to have a small dinner honoring Indigenous populations by preparing traditional Indigenous foods...
Appreciating the time with family without throwing myself under the bus to “do it all”...I have far more questions than answers...
We read the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address and always have a discussion about the land we are on at that moment...
Going to my childhood home and entering into the tradition of slowly and silently cooking beside my mom, taking unapologetically loud breaks, and tasting as much food as possible. ...Even in my childhood, we celebrated a form of decolonized Thanksgiving & time of gratitude. My parents were very upfront that there was a genocide of the Native Americans (the original keepers of American land) & then the enslavement of Africans ([who] then kept the ground)...
I decided to mark the National Day of Mourning by fasting in solitude, on alternate years. I grapple with the need for justice for First Nations' in the US (and beyond), and use that sorrow, regret, and energy to learn and practice ethnobotany of the place I live year round. ...I typically live for food holidays, but am glad to take years off to sit empty with empathy and curiosity for the pain and suffering that are embedded within the American Thanksgiving tradition.
I still don't know! ...Last year [we] opted out of Thanksgiving. I have a Native friend who has said how harmful this holiday is to her. ...I love the food but don't love the myth behind it.
Starting the meal with a land acknowledgement and helping my young children understand both the privilege and obligations of living on this land.
In community,
Tay + Dor
photo by Lise Metzger for GFJ Stories
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