In 2009, President Barack Obama signed the “Native American Heritage Day Resolution” which designates the Friday after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day. The purpose of this day is to encourage every American to understand the rich culture, tradition, and history of Native Americans and their past, present, and future.
For many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is not a day to give thanks and instead is a day of mourning. As many of our members will gather with their friends and families to celebrate Thanksgiving, we want to acknowledge the harm that this holiday holds for many of our members.
Thanksgiving was first celebrated in 1637 as Puritan colonists celebrated their “victory” of taking over an entire Pequot village. After a long campaign by white colonists to heal a divided nation, Thanksgiving was officially recognized as a holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. During the Civil War, Lincoln perpetuated the myth of Pilgrims and Natives coming together to share a meal despite all of their differences. This story is a false narrative that has continued for generations.
The story of Thanksgiving has been fabricated to depict a peaceful coming together of colonizers and native tribes that fails to acknowledge the death, destruction, and land-grabbing. The truth is, our country’s “first Thanksgiving” resulted in the genocide and erasure of the Wampanoag peoples. This genocide set a precedent for what life as Indigenous peoples would be like in North America.
Thanksgiving has nothing to do with Native Americans. It took until 1924 for Native Americans to be allowed to become citizens of the United States and even longer for all states to allow Natives to vote.
We encourage everyone to seek to understand the diverse histories, cultures, and traditions of different Native American tribes. Today and everyday, and most especially this holiday week, we respectfully remember indigenous elders of the past, honor indigenous peoples of the present, and stand with future indigenous generations.
We encourage all of our members to join us in appreciating the contributions, strength, and resiliency of Native Americans today and every day.
Here are some action steps that you can take to decolonize your Thanksgiving:
Acknowledge the native land you occupy
- Use Native Lands App to learn about your area’s Indigenous Peoples
- Beyond Land Acknowledgement
- Analysis: How well-meaning land acknowledgements can erase Indigenous people and sanitize history
Learn the real history
- For Native peoples, Thanksgiving isn’t a celebration. It’s a National Day of Mourning
- 9 Ways to Decolonize and Honor Native Peoples on Thanksgiving
- Help your children understand the real history behind the holiday. This is a great interactive lesson.
Listen to Indigenous voices
Read books by Indigenous authors and poets
- 10 Children’s Books by Native Writers
- 7 Thanksgiving books for kids written from the Native perspective
- Find more with #NativeReads
Support Indigenous artists
Support your local Native artists or find Native-owned businesses through this Buy Native site.
Uplift Indigenous voices
Follow on Instagram:
@decolonizemyself
@ndncollective
@nativeconservancy
@indigenouscultures
@nativelovestories
Support Indigenous organizations