Thanksgiving – A Day of Remembrance and of Mourning

Instead of honoring a myth about Pilgrims and Indians gathered at a table, can we choose to honor the resilience of Indigenous peoples who are still alive today, reviving our own traditions that teach us to see the world as good and sacred…Decolonizing our table means recognizing that sacredness moves and breathes all over the place, in all people, in all creatures, in all things, so communion becomes the space in which we say everyone and everything is loved.

     — Kaitlin Curtice, Native-Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God, 2020

Kaitlin B. Curtice is a member of the Potawatomi Nation, as well as a Christian, public speaker, and poet. She writes on the intersection of Indigenous spirituality, faith in everyday life, and church.

As A Native American, Here’s What I Want My Fellow Americans to Know About Thanksgiving

If I could ask one thing from my non-indigenous fellow Americans when it comes to Thanksgiving, I would ask that you refrain from teaching the romanticized version of the holiday. Read to your children about what it means to be thankful, what it means to heal and be a family. Learn as a family about the tribal nation that is local to where you live. Take time during dinner to recognize whose traditional lands you give thanks on. Take this holiday into your own hands and understand that not every Native will have good feelings about this day, and be accepting of that. We can all choose how we feel about this holiday, but it is always our own choice.

—  Corinne Oestreich from Huffpost Personal, December 02, 2019 

Corinne Oestreich is a professional Journalist with Powwows.com since 2014. She is Lakota and Mohawk and is founder of the non-profit “The Buffalo Project”, a program that seeks to reduce human trafficking and violence against women through empowering men to embrace healthy emotional behavior through Indigenous values.

This Thanksgiving, Join Us in Remembrance

Here at Native Hope, we hope that this Thanksgiving, the hearts of all people, Native and non-Native, are filled with hope, healing, and a desire to dismantle the barriers—physical, economic, educational, psychological, and spiritual— that divide us and oppress us.
 
This time of year, and these two holidays, Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day, give us the opportunity to reflect on our collective history and to celebrate the beauty, strength, and resilience of the Native tribes of North America.
 
We remember the generosity of the Wampanoag tribe to the helpless settlers.

We remember the hundreds of thousands of Native Americans who lost their lives at the hands of colonialists and the genocide of whole tribes.

We remember the vibrant and powerful Native descendants, families, and communities that persist to this day throughout the culture and the country.

National Day of Mourning

Since 1970, United American Indians of New England have organized and, with supporters have gathered at noon on Cole’s Hill in Plymouth to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the US thanksgiving holiday. Many Native Americans do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims and other European settlers. 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. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience.

51st Annual National Day of Mourning
November 26, 2020
12:00 Noon
Coles Hill, Plymouth, MA

How you can still support the National Day of Mourning even if you can’t attend – 2020 PDF

From the UUA-Resources for this time:

Harvest the Power Schedule

In truth, thanksgiving celebrations have a long and rich history that predates the landing of the Pilgrims and the founding of the United States. There are many, many ways that we can connect in gratitude and celebrate the abundance of the Fall harvest as a community without celebrating an ahistorical colonial origin story. 

 This year, let us be grateful in a genuine manner. Let our gratitude flow from our deep, ongoing commitment to justice and equity. Let our gratitude grow from the opportunities we have to be together authentically—whether virtually or in person. Please join me as we reimagine this day and gather in community to honor Indigenous ancestors, experiences and traditions. May it be a time to reflect and find meaning in how our shared values connect us.

     — Susan Fredrick-Gray, President of the UUA-2020