Thanksgiving….
It’s never been one of my favorite holidays. And after learning more about the history behind it, this year was the first one that we officially decided not to celebrate. It’s definitely not that I care if anyone else does, and it seems like so many people still do. Just for me, as a white person with a white family, and having learned more and more about our racist past, it’s not a holiday I personally feel right about celebrating anymore.
I wondered how it would go – NOT celebrating it. I was super nervous to tell my family that we weren’t going to. Last year when we brought it up, it didn’t go well with one of the people in my family at all. So I was nervous they would be frustrated with me, accuse me of “virtue signaling”, trying to be “woke”, whatever.
I texted my parents in a way that I hoped wouldn’t come off too preachy and didn’t hear back about it, so it was fine. It was an awkward day but I ripped the band-aid off, told them, and then it was over.
I did feel a bit of sadness when we first decided not to do it. It’s always emphasized as a day when family does get together to eat and enjoy time. I felt a little “left out” even though I knew it was our own choice. But honestly that feeling didn’t last long either.
When the actual holiday/time off came around, we ended up having a really nice couple days at home. We didn’t cook a big meal or anything but we hung out together, put up our little Christmas trees and our menorah. It was still a relaxing, fun day spent with family.
Last year and this year, we donated to the Miami Indians of Indiana. It’s a tradition I want to start in our household on Thanksgiving day and hopefully during other times too. You can find which Native tribes live in your state before European settlers arrived by using this website.
Below are some resources that I’ve personally found helpful for navigating this holiday, how to celebrate, indigenous accounts I follow, in case anyone else wants to check them out:
Article: The True, Dark History of Thanksgiving
IG Accounts: @dawnlandmovie @illuminative @nativegiving @delfinaroybal @decolonizemyself
You Cannot Decolonize Thanksgiving – IG post