Every year we try to educate ourselves and others on the truth behind this day and share helpful tips on how you can decolonize the holiday and celebrate Indigenous land, language, food, art and history.
1. Learn about whose land you are on.
2. Learn/share the real history of Thanksgiving.
Like many other "popular" American holidays, the truth behind the history is not widely discussed. Thanksgiving serves as a painful and traumatic reminder of genocide and violence against Native American communities. So often the Pilgrims' point of view is the one shared with the masses, not the perspective of the Wampanoag people. Watch a Wampanoag citizen re-tell the true story behind thanksgiving.
3. Honor Indigenous relationships to food.
The whitewashing of Thanksgiving has greatly impacted the first people of this land and their relationship to food. Food is sacred and carries great value. Try practicing a few of the traditional food principles: cultivate food sovereignty, promote generosity, cook and eat with good intention, honor the food web, try and eat a variety of local foods, identify foods that are Indigenous to your region, and source your food and ingredients responsibly.
4. Support Native artists and makers
With the holidays just around the corner, one of the best ways you can actively participate in decolonization is shopping and supporting Native vendors. Cultural Survival has hosted A Festival of Indigenous Arts and Culture Bazaar for the past few years and has accumulated a wonderful list of Native vendors. Visit their website at: https://bazaar.culturalsurvival.org to support Indigenous artists and fair-trade vendors.
- The 7000 Languages Team
