Spend This Thanksgiving Rooted in Reality
![A Lakota person rides a horse during to meet the descendant of the commander of the Wounded Knee massacre on the Cheyenne River reservation in November, 2019 [Stephanie Keith/Reuters]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f21dbb91adde3260d4ba1ef/1606329880056-451O8X34ZIUIWO9LD0CJ/indigenous-american-lakota)
A Lakota person rides a horse during to meet the descendant of the commander of the Wounded Knee massacre on the Cheyenne River reservation in November, 2019 [Stephanie Keith/Reuters]
Thanksgiving has always offered a false and comforting narrative to Americans. Instead of representing the massacres that settlers committed against Indigenous people, the holiday offers us rosy pictures of collaboration and breaking bread.
But as we approach a Thanksgiving that, for many of us, will break with tradition (attending dinner with extended family and friends seems superspreader-level dangerous right now), here are a few pieces by Native and Indigenous writers that shed a more honest light on American history and offer a new set of traditions to ground us in this time of uncertainty.
“Our History Is the Future: Lakota Historian Nick Estes on Thanksgiving & Indigenous Resistance” with Amy Goodman / Estes, co-founder of the group The Red Nation, connects the historical violence of the Thanksgiving myth to the present-day violence Indigenous resisters experience today.
“Four ways to decolonize your thankstaking” by the Indigenous Environmental Network / A Twitter thread reminding readers that the hard work only begins with land acknowledgements, a reflection on the Indigenous land that you live or work on as a way to honor the history of the people who had the land stolen from them.
“Thanksgiving Is Another Reminder of What America Forgot” by Nick Martin / Reflecting on how our educational system still fails Indigenous children.
“Vital, Funny and Beautiful Films to Watch for Native American Heritage Month” by Migizi Pensoneau / Screenwriter Migizi Pensoneau on five Indigenous films that stick with him because of their representation and their storytelling.
“The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I’ve Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday” by Sean Sherman / A chef asks Thanksgiving celebrants to forge a deeper understanding of the Native American histories of their food.