The Thanksgiving story is usually told from the perspective of the white Separatists (later called Pilgrims) coming from England via the Netherlands, but they did not “discover” a “New World”: this land was inhabited and had been so for thousands of years. Our modern Thanksgiving holiday often focuses on gratitude (and football, and Black Friday), but it’s important to recognize the true origin story of the holiday, not the familiar whitewashed narrative.
This year, in addition to turkey (or tofurkey), cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, we’re bringing something else to the table: Native history and Native voices. Indians don’t only belong to the past; members of hundreds of nations are here and now. Read their books: