Native Americans spend Thanksgiving ‘in mourning’, honoring culture
How to Local person spending Thanksgiving?
For many, rather than a celebration of peace and shared prosperity between Native Americans and the Pilgrims, Thanksgiving represented the shadow of genocide and Native resilience. .
Each tribe and individual may have a different way of spending Thanksgiving. Some will gather with their families and dine, exchanging prayers and stories from the rich oral history of Native Americans. Others will fast for the whole day.
For tribal citizen Dennis W. Zotigh, Thanksgiving is a “day of mourning.” Zotigh is a member of the Kiowa Gourd Clan and the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo Winter House and is a descendant of Sitting Bear and Not Retiring, both of which were Kiowas’ chief warlords.
“For most natives, Thanksgiving is not a celebration,” Zotigh said. “Indigenous people, especially in the New England area, remember this attempted genocide as a real part of the real world.” economy of their history and is reminded each year of the modern Thanksgiving”.
Zotigh works as a writer and cultural expert at the Smithsonian National Museum of American Indians in Washington, D.C.
The united American Indians of New England meet annually at Plymouth Rock on Cole Hill to mourn. They gathered at the foot of Wampanoag’s statue of Grand Sachem Massasoit to remember and reflect in the hope that America would never forget the sacrifices and tragedies of its natives.
Tribal citizen Julie Garreau also describes Thanksgiving as a “day of mourning” for her people. Garreau lives on the Cheyenne River Sioux Preserve in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, and runs the Cheyenne River Youth Project.
This year, Julie isn’t celebrating Thanksgiving, but instead she’s hosting an event on Native American Heritage Day called “Thank You for the Children,” honoring Indigenous children. Children booked at Cheyenne River can enjoy homemade tacos and fun activities. In the past, they did
In the past, she has made indigenous dishes such as grilled buffalo meat and pumpkin soup, honoring the local history by cooking dishes that the natives usually eat.
Garreau has also worked with children on the Cheyenne River Youth Project to prepare wasna, a traditional Lowland Indian dish made from a mixture of dried meat (usually buffalo), dried berries (usually chokecherries) and fat (usually kidney fat or bone marrow. ) are pounded together with a mortar and pestle.
In other years, they held classes teaching indigenous children to sew moccasins.
Joshua Arce, president and chief executive officer of the Native American Partnership, still participates in Thanksgiving but sees the holiday as a way to gather with family and celebrate Indigenous culture. He is part of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, a federally recognized tribe in Kansas.
“I have a very harmonious household because my mother’s side is Native American and my father’s side is Mexican-American,” says Arce. “It’s always been about being around the family,” says Arce. “It’s about being able to celebrate in many ways, our family’s resilience.”
Along with a Thanksgiving turkey, Arce’s family will also eat wild rice casserole, as wild rice is the staple food of the Potawatomi tribe of the northern Great Lakes region.
Thanksgiving celebrations also focus heavily on prayer, including giving thanks and remembering loved ones who have passed before us and praying for a favorable fall and winter, especially for keeping warm through the seasons. crowded and responsive to needs, says Arce.
Like Garreau and Zotigh, Arce also calls Thanksgiving a “day of mourning” that creates intergenerational and intergenerational trauma. He associates it with European terms that have dominated indigenous peoples, such as colonization, discovery and expression of fate.
What can we do to respect the locals?
Garreau says the top thing people can do is get educated and learn the true history of Thanksgiving.
Garreau points out that Native Americans in South Dakota have long tried to change school curricula to more accurately reflect Native history, but have repeatedly been rejected by the state legislature.
Garreau and Arce both describe learning about Thanksgiving as a harmonious celebration involving cooperation and mutual respect. They experienced a rude awakening in adulthood when they learned the true story and understood the dynamics between colonists and colonizers.
“Thanksgiving, as the origin story of the United States of America, leaves behind a painful truth about our nation’s history,” Zotigh said. The introduction of Thanksgiving to children was mostly a stretch. good times will trivialize our common history and teach half-truths,” Zotigh said.
However, Zotigh and Arce acknowledge that describing the true history of Thanksgiving can be overwhelming for young children given the violence and stark realities of colonization.
National Geographic’s description of the real Thanksgiving: Tell the True Story of Thanksgiving
“While I agree that elementary school children celebrating their first Thanksgiving in class are too young to hear the truth, educators need to share the truth about Thanksgiving in all schools,” says Zotigh. studied in the US before graduating from high school,” said Zotigh.
As part of her work at Partnering with Native Americans, Arce has also prepared documentation on its website (nativepartnership.org) explains the real history behind Thanksgiving. They even did lesson plan discuss topics sensitively with children in kindergarten through third grade. These include age-appropriate lessons on indigenous culture and heritage, culturally appropriate crafts, book recommendations, and quick idea writing.
Arce also points out that less than 1% of charities support Indigenous causes and recommends donations to Indigenous causes on Tuesday.
Although each citizen of this tribe spends Thanksgiving differently, they all take time to acknowledge past atrocities and thank their ancestors.
Thank you has always been a part of everyday Native American life, says Zotigh.
You can follow author Michelle Shen @ michelle_shen10 on Twitter.