Rethinking Thanksgiving

This year as many of us will not be gathering with family for Thanksgiving, we’ll have more time to reflect on the history and meaning of this holiday for us.

Pierce County, WI was part of the 1837 Land Cession Treaties with Ojibwe and Dakota. You can search where you live at https://native-land.ca/.

“The thing is, we do not need the poisonous “pilgrims and Indians” narrative. We do not need that illusion of past unity to actually unite people today. Instead, we can focus simply on values that apply to everybody: togetherness, generosity and gratitude. And we can make the day about what everybody wants to talk and think about anyway: the food.

People may not realize it, but what every person in this country shares, and the very history of this nation, has been in front of us the whole time. Most of our Thanksgiving recipes are made with indigenous foods: turkey, corn, beans, pumpkins, maple, wild rice and the like. We should embrace this.”

– Sean Sherman, founder and SEO of the Sioux Chef

Read full article from TIME: The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I’ve Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday.