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Kids, Thanksgiving and Indigenous Resistance

It’s the holiday season. I’m talking, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Years... So, I spend time thinking about how I want my kids to experience this time, and what I want them to learn from it.  Today, in the US, it's Thanksgiving, so I'm focusing my thoughts there.


Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is not a holiday that means much to me as someone who grew up in the UK. As an adult living here in the States, I’ve learned about the pilgrims, colonization and the continued violence against and disenfranchisement of indigenous peoples. It makes it easy to question why Thanksgiving is still a thing.


Attempts to simply reframe the holiday, to just consider it as an opportunity to be thankful for what we have now, does a further disservice to indigenous people. That approach simply ignores the truth. This federal holiday as taught in schools tells a story of peace and cooperation. Too often, this story comes without recognition of the oppressive and violent history between white colonizers and indigenous people. It is a missed opportunity to talk about the impact this history still has on indigenous people. Further, a missed opportunity to talk about the existing efforts to repatriate (rematriate) land and reestablish cultural sovereignty. 


While I see value in celebrating with family and friends, reflecting on what we're grateful for, I think it cannot be done in isolation. Thanksgiving should also be a time to recognize indigenous existence and resistance. And tomorrow, November 25, is Native American Heritage Day. The perfect opportunity for it.


A familiar sight, friends enjoying a feast.



Coyote Story

At our “friendsgiving” table last weekend, enjoying time with our former roommates, Max asked me what Thanksgiving was. I started to tell him about the pilgrims running out of food and the indigenous people sharing their feast. Then I told him about the colonizers forcing people off their lands, out of their homes. 


“And then the white people murdered them,” I said, as Steve and my friends shot me a surprised look. OK, maybe I’ll ease up on the murder bit. He’s 2 after all.


“What’s loney [sic] people?” Max asked.


 “The Ohlone people are the people who have lived here since way before we came,” I answered. I was careful to find the balance between sharing a lesson in history without making it seem as though the Ohlone people no longer exist.


“Tell me the coyote story,” he said.


I was confused, I didn’t know a coyote story. I quickly googled ‘Ohlone coyote story’ and found the Ohlone creation story, which includes a Hummingbird, Eagle, and Coyote. I told Max the story and he listened intently. He told me they told him the story at school. 


I haven’t confirmed that they tell that story at school, but I thought it was really cool that Max asked for the coyote story. That he’s learning about indigenous existence, culture, and history even at a young age. Kids are never too young. Never too young to talk about racism, colonization, sexuality, gender, etc. It’s all about how you talk about it. I may not get it right all of the time, but I'm trying.



Looking forward

This morning we participated in Oakland's Turkey Trot with Max's friend from daycare. They had a short kids run that was a fundraiser for the local zoo. I wish the fundraiser was for a non-profit that benefitted local indigenous communities, such as the Sangorea Te' Land Trust whose mission includes restoring land to Ohlone people and protecting and revitalizing their tribal cultures.

My hope is that as the boys continue to grow, we’ll make sure Thanksgiving is a time for us to give back to the indigenous community in some way. That could look like making sure we pay our Shuumi Land Tax, or doing volunteer work to clean up a local beach/river/park. I just know for sure, the cookie cutter story of pilgrims and indigenous people happy and at peace won’t be the only story they know.



This is your sign to go look up the history of the land you occupy. Who lived here? Where are they now? What efforts are happening in your area to support the indigenous communities who were harmed by colonization and everything since? What indigenous owned businesses can you support?

Non-profits for Oakland/Bay area folks

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