Published on Portside (https://portside.org/)
How to Celebrate
Thanksgiving Without Erasing the Exploitation and Genocide of Native American
People
Rachel
Grumman Bender
November
24, 2020
Yahoo
Life
For many people
across the U.S., Thanksgiving is about getting together as a family —
likely remotely this year, in light of the pandemic — and digging in to a
festive feast. What’s often glossed over or erased entirely is the real history
behind the holiday, particularly the treatment of Native Americans. But some
experts say there are ways to participate in the holiday while also
acknowledging its troubling past.
“From the
beginning, the story of Thanksgiving has been about telling a romantic story
about the relationship between white Americans and the indigenous people of
this country,” Stephanie Fryberg, a member of Washington’s Tulalip tribes
and professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, tells Yahoo Life.
“The irony is that Native people have been sold the same story,” which is one
that told the early colonists and natives “sat down amicably and ate together,”
Fryberg says, “and the Native Americans helped them survive the winter...and
the American colonies just expanded and the Natives just decide to give up the
land. And the story ends there and the Natives just die off in history.”
It’s the “myth of
Thanksgiving,” Crystal Echo Hawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation and founder
and chief executive officer of IllumiNative, a nonprofit dedicated to
increasing the visibility of and challenging negative narratives about Native
peoples in American society, tells Yahoo Life. It’s a story that “worked to
create a history of this country that erased the genocide and brutality of
Native peoples,” Echo Hawk says. “As an example, the earliest attempt
at declaring Thanksgiving as a holiday was in the 1860s when
President Lincoln was trying to unite the country, and he never mentioned Native
peoples.”
The "myth of
Thanksgiving" tells the tale of settlers and Native Americans amicably
sharing a meal, erasing realities of exploitation and genocide. (Photo by:
Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images)
Fryberg says the
story that’s often told about the holiday is “so stereotyped” and is “all about
erasure.” She adds: “Thanksgiving day is really a celebration of the
exploitation and genocide of Native American people.”
She acknowledges
that many people grew up thinking the holiday was about “family time” and
“gratefulness.” But, she says, “You’re still erasing the true history.
Absolutely you can see how you would want to hold onto that positivity — the
problem is you’re contributing to a narrative that is problematic.”
Why Thanksgiving
is a day of mourning for Native Americans
For many Native
Americans, Thanksgiving is not a day of celebration — it’s considered a
national day of mourning. According to the United American Indians of New
England, “Thanksgiving day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native
people, the theft of Native lands, and the relentless assault on Native
culture.”
The Day of
Mourning is “really about truth telling — it pushes back on the myth of
Thanksgiving,” says Echo Hawk, who notes that 27 states “make no mention of
Native peoples in their K-12 curriculum,” adding: “Of those that do, 87 percent
don’t mention Native peoples post-1900. The true history of Indigenous peoples has
been erased from history books, from our schools, from media. It’s important
that we have narratives and days where we push back and against these harmful
myths that only seek to uphold the stories that protect white supremacy.”
Having school
children adopt Native American traditions, as seen here in a Denver school in
2002, is exactly what not to do when trying to correct the long-taught myth of
Thanksgiving, say experts. (Photo: Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post via Getty
Images)
Given its painful
history, Native Americans like Fryberg prefer that people don’t celebrate
Thanksgiving. But for those who do, there are ways to acknowledge the history
of the holiday (and its aftermath), as well as the contributions of Native
Americans, and incorporate them into the day.
Share the real
story of Thanksgiving with your family
Whether you’re
sitting around your dining table with your immediate family or having a Zoom
call with extended family on Thanksgiving, make an effort to acknowledge Native
Americans. “Take the time to talk to your family and acknowledge that while
coming together — virtually this year! — is important, it’s also time to learn
about the true history of this country,” says Echo Hawk.
For example,
according to the National Museum of the American Indian: “The Wampanoag
shared their land, food, and knowledge of the environment with the English
[colonists]. Without help from the Wampanoag, the English would not have had
the successful harvest that led to the First Thanksgiving. However, cooperation
was short lived, as the English continued to attack and encroach upon Wampanoag
lands in spite of their agreements.”
Although it can be
hard to bring up such a somber topic with your family on the holiday, Fryberg
says, “You can’t just default to, ‘We’re just not going to talk about it,’
because you’re literally contributing to the same erasure.”
When talking to
children about Thanksgiving, Fryberg says to keep things age-appropriate. But, says
Echo Hawk, “Tell them the truth, as hard as it is, as uncomfortable as it can
be. We’re all having to do the work of recognizing how our actions uphold these
false stories that are biased and harmful. The best thing we can do, what we
owe to our children, is a truthful history.”
It's important to
acknowledge that traditional Thanksgiving foods — including turkey, pumpkins,
cranberries, corn, beans and more — have indigenous roots, say experts. (Photo:
Getty Images)
Echo Hawk says
that we can’t begin to move forward or end systemic racism in the U.S. until we
“acknowledge the role genocide and racism played in the creation of this
country.” She says, “It’s the only way we learn. It’s the only way we can do
better. It’s the only way we create a better future.”
Serve — or at
least talk about — Indigenous foods
While people dig
into the turkey and cranberry sauce, most don’t realize or think about the fact
that some of the dishes served on Thanksgiving stem from indigenous foods.
These include turkey, pumpkins, cranberries, corn, beans, maple syrup, and
more.
For example,
Native Americans made the first cranberry sauce, according to
the Smithsonian, and were “managing and raising turkeys” as early as 1200
to 1400 A.D., according to ScienceDaily. Turkey feathers were used “on
arrows, in headdresses and clothing,” according to ScienceDaily. “The meat was
used for food. Their bones were used for tools including scratchers used in
ritual ceremonies.”
At the
Thanksgiving meal, suggests Fryberg, “Talk about why you're eating the foods
that you’re eating.”
Look at how your
child’s school teaches kids about Thanksgiving
Along with finding
age-appropriate ways to teach the real story of Thanksgiving, it’s important
for schools to avoid harmful stereotyping and cultural
appropriation in lesson plans, such as making and wearing Native American
headdresses. “Projects and crafts that attempt to adapt or copy Native
traditions tend to perpetuate stereotypes of Native Americans,” according to
the National Museum of the American Indian. “For example, we discourage
adopting ‘Native’ costumes into your classroom.” Instead, the museum offers
some ways here to include more culturally-sensitive lesson plans on
Native Americans.
Echo Hawk suggests
reading books that center Indigenous history or books that showcase Native
Americans today. For kids, the First Nations Development Institute has
a recommended reading list of Native American children’s books, and
Brightly has its own list of books for children and young adults that
celebrate the heritage of Native Americans.
“Learn about and
support the continued efforts Native peoples are taking to protect our land,
our water, our peoples,” says Echo Hawk. “Follow Indigenous accounts on social
media to break out of your echo chamber. Learn about whose land you’re on — not
just their history, but how they exist today.” (You can look up which Native
American tribes lived in your area with the Native Land map.)
She adds: “You
shouldn’t only care about or acknowledge Native peoples during Thanksgiving —
we exist and should be celebrated and acknowledged 365 days a year.”
Rachel Grumman
Bender is an award-winning health, beauty, and parenting writer and editor. She
has written for Self.com, Women’s Health, Prevention, Everyday Health, the New
York Post, The New York Times, and many more publications.
Donations can be sent
to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206,
Baltimore, MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at]
comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives."
Eugene Victor Debs
