Thanksgiving is the beginning of the holiday season of both the fall and wintertime, which includes Christmas and the New Year all along. The chaotic story of Thanksgiving was created at the expense of Indigenous peoples. It is an excellent opportunity for non-Native people to support the Indigenous community besides being thankful for what you have as a valuable tradition.
Let’s know about five ways, to begin with-
1. Decolonize your meal
Decolonization refers to the process of undoing colonialism and its effects. Colonialism is how erasure and invisibility of certain people existed in history and played a significant role but was underrated. Promoting the visibility of native traditions and culture, and history is the work of decolonizing. If you want to support indigenous people this Thanksgiving, the right way will be to get a decolonized meal. According to Chef Nephi Craig, the dish “three sisters,” which equals corn, beans, and rice, is the gateway dish to decolonizing your diet. He also thinks one must prioritize sourcing Thanksgiving tables locally, buying from Indigenous food businesses and local farmers as much as possible.
2. Educate Children about Thanksgiving
We need to teach and educate our children about the reality of Thanksgiving, allowing them to nourish and develop a good outlook on such issues. Admit them into schools, go through the curriculum, and make sure they’re being taught an honest representation of the Thanksgiving story. Educational institutions and schools must actively advocate decolonizing Thanksgiving.
3. Know about Thanksgiving
For this, start with learning more and more about the original history of Thanksgiving Day! How, when, and why does it happen? You must educate yourself about the struggle and sufferings the indigenous people had to go through until the date about unity between “Pilgrims and Indians.” This peaceful story had erased the absolute truth of the ferocity European colonizers did to indigenous communities. And to some extent, this is still going on with many indigenous people in America.
4. Support Indigenous Community
Consider donating and investing your money to organizations and activists supporting Indigenous people and Indigenous land rights. This way, you will learn more about the effects of climate change on Indigenous people and find ways to diminish and participate in the fight for saving mother nature. Besides, try to shop from indigenous people and market to help them grow.
5. Stand with Indigenous People
Learning won’t help only to support the indigenous community; you must act on it. For example, help raise their voices, engage with them in various ways, support them, follow their lead, listen to them, and event rally with them. Social media platforms are a vital source of finding and engaging them.
