Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month are both in November!
MWCC reflects on what this holiday season means to us: expressing gratitude, sharing local foods, quality time with loved ones, football, and reflecting on the year’s hard work are top of the list.
It’s important to consider, during our short break from work this month, how our Thanksgiving history informs our work and relationships, our connections to where we live, and how we can use this knowledge to change the course of history. While enjoying this seasonal moment of rest, it’s important to keep in mind that some consider this holiday a day of mourning. There is a lot to reflect on regarding the historical violence towards and cultural assimilation of Indigenous peoples.
This holiday season, please join us in reflecting on these themes and considering how we can support local justice, collaboration, and conservation this November.
Here are some resources and articles to help you and your family celebrate Native American Heritage Month while deepening your connection to Thanksgiving (by decolonizing it):
Yum!, Food Resources:
- Indigenous Cuisinology with Mariah Gladstone of Indigikitchen: Ologies Podcast. Host Alie Ward interviews Mariah Gladstone about shoving elk into a dorm room freezer, the wildest tasting rice, flower bulbs, acorn whoopie pies, frybread debates, decolonized diets, food sovereignty, and more.
- Food Sovereignty is on the Menu This Thanksgiving by Salish ethnobotanist Rose Bear Don’t Walk
- Decolonizing Thanksgiving and Reviving Indigenous Relationships to Food by M. Karlos Baca
Thinking, Thanking, and Growing Justice with Timeless Conversations:
- Don’t Trash Thanksgiving. Decolonize it. by Zenobia Jeffries Warfield
- A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgment: National Environmental Education Foundation and U.S. Department of Arts and Culture
- A Thanksgiving Message from Seven Amazing Native Americans
- Thanks-taking: Unspoken Words podcast. Unspoken Words is a podcast by Native American hosts Josiah Hugs (Apsaalooke), JC Beaumont (Apsaalooke/Nakoda) and Randy Bear Don’t Walk (Apsaalooke) that discusses the issues of Indigenous peoples with insight, experience and humility.