The month of November is finally reaching its end. The weather has gotten colder, the leaves are falling off the trees, and the fourth Thursday of November was just celebrated by many families across America. And what is so important about the fourth Thursday of November? It is the holiday known as Thanksgiving. This holiday is perhaps one of the most controversial out there.
For starters, Thanksgiving didn’t actually begin on the supposed feast that the pilgrims had with the Native Americans. It is celebrated in countries besides America too, but in different ways then ours. It is up in the air where Thanksgiving came from, but some people believe that it was brought by the pilgrims on their voyage to America. Others believe it was religious or secular.
For a long time, many people in the U.S. believed exactly what they read in history books. They believed that Thanksgiving began as a feast between the pilgrims and the Wampanoag people. In this version of history, everyone was thankful. It wasn’t until more recently that more people learned the truth: Thanksgiving was not a feast of thanks, it was a genocide.
In response to the lies told to us by textbooks and movies about Thanksgiving, some people have decided to stop celebrating the holiday, and, instead, recognize it as “National Day of Mourning''. This alternative to Thanksgiving involves people gathering at noon to honor Native Americans of the past, and to recognize the struggles they still face today. This day was created because of a group of Indigenous people in the 1970s who protested against Thanksgiving. And the efforts of the people who fought back did not stop there. Over time, schools have started teaching correct lessons, telling the children of today the truth, so we may help the generations before us, and the generation to come.
While, in truth, Thanksgiving is a very cruel holiday, that doesn’t mean you have to stop celebrating it. Many people have decided to celebrate in a different way, such as recognizing it as “National Day of Mourning”, “Family Day”, or simply just a day where you give thanks and spend time with family. You can make Native American recipes, instead (or along with) traditional Thanksgiving food. You also have the option to donate to food drives, work at a soup kitchen, or give to the people in need who may live in your neighborhood. I hope that this Thanksgiving, you take time to honor the struggle that Native Americans have and still face today.
Article Source (Thank you to Michelle Simon, for giving me the article!)
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