I’d like to preface this by saying I am not a fan of Thanksgiving.
I’d like to preface this by saying I am not a fan of Thanksgiving.
I’m not trying to shame anyone who is. I get it. You like the idea of coming together as a family. You enjoy getting to see everyone and going around the table saying what you’re thankful for. Maybe you just really like the food. All of those are valid opinions and feelings. However, we cannot ignore the fact that this “holiday” does not truly stand for what we’ve been told it does our whole lives.
November is National Native American Heritage Month, a sort of way of hastily making up for all of the pain and suffering this country has put Indigenous peoples through. A means of damage control for hundreds of years of racism, hatred, and attempted erasure. This month is meant to celebrate the multitude of diverse cultures, traditions, and histories of Indigenous peoples and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native peoples. However, we continue to celebrate Thanksgiving in the very same month meant to honor Indigenous peoples.
I’m sure most of you are wondering where Thanksgiving comes into play here. In primary school, I’m sure you learned the same thing I did-that Thanksgiving is a holiday meant to celebrate family and that the first Thanksgiving consisted of the pilgrims and “Indians” (an inaccurate term for Indigenous peoples of America) coming together to celebrate the harvest season peacefully. A blatant Americanized erasure of the real-life raw, bloody history. The first Thanksgiving was actually declared to celebrate the white pilgrims/colony citizens’ victories in battle during the Pequot Massacre of 1637, where some 700 Pequot men, women, and children were slaughtered in what is now known as Mystic, Connecticut. Completely different than they taught us when we were young.
On October 3rd, 1863, President Lincoln announced that the nation would celebrate an official day of “Thanksgiving” on November 26th, 1863 (and every year thereafter). It was meant to express gratitude for a Union Army victory at Gettysburg-once again proving that the bloodshed of war deserves a day of thanks and family, but I digress (at least The Civil War was monumental in that it fought to end the practice of enslaving humans). From then on, “Thanksgiving” was seen as a day of gratitude, to reminisce on what we were grateful for and to celebrate with our families, completely disregarding the suffering that the American settlers (immigrants) put Indigenous peoples through.
This year actually marks the 400th anniversary of pilgrims arriving on Native land in what we now know as Plymouth, Massachusetts. It marks 400 years of hurt.
However, 50 years ago, the United American Indians of New England declared today as a National Day of Mourning. A protest to honor those Indigenous lives taken, brutalized, and forgotten by white American history, it has become a national day to honor the suffering faced by Indigenous peoples throughout history and to focus on the current struggles and oppression Indigenous communities face today.
Just this year, the Navajo Nation and the White Mountain Apache had the highest rates of COVID-19 cases in the country (while the news highlighted the state of New York). The Quileute Tribe in Washington had to watch their histories and cultures be white-washed for entertainment as a new Twilight novel came out, all the while trying to raise money to move their community away from the at-risk tsunami zone it is located in. Not to mention the continuous voter suppression that goes on in Native communities, the sacred waters and lands that are pillaged and defiled, and the Indigenous people who face racism from American immigrants (because yes, if our ancestors came here by ship or plane, we are all immigrants on this land-save for the Native communities) every single day.
I believe that today, we should expend our energy not on stating what we’re thankful for, but acknowledging the people who had to suffer in order for us to have a day off work to celebrate with our families. We should mourn the lives lost due to the pilgrims’ greed and hatred and lament the suffering their descendants still face today. We should take back the history that American forefathers attempted to erase and educate ourselves on the true history of this country. We should celebrate Indigenous peoples’ cultures, strength, and histories and do our part to help their communities. Whether that’s by donating, learning more about their heritage and histories, or simply respecting their beliefs. I don’t want to make anyone feel bad today-that’s not the point of this post. I simply want to acknowledge a collective of communities who have continuously been harmed by the holidays, traditions, and plain existence of America. I want to recognize the oppression they face day in and day out and attempt to honor them.
So, while you sit down at the dining table this evening and go around stating what you’re all thankful for this year, I hope you check your privilege and remember that this “holiday” isn’t a happy one for many, many people (or even a holiday at all). I hope you will continue to educate yourselves on the many Indigenous cultures and recognize the foundation of white supremacy that this country we live in was built upon. I hope you even donate (if you can) to any of the tribes or organizations linked in this article in lieu of Black Friday shopping-or even along with it. Thanks for reading and I hope you continue expanding your historical knowledge*.
*I am by no means an expert on the many Indigenous Heritages or Cultures. This was written simply as a way to recognize and acknowledge those who are hurting or forgotten during this “holiday”.
BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS