Thanksgiving Mourning (tolerance.org)

Much of the Thanksgiving story focuses on a peaceful, cross-cultural exchange between the "Pilgrims and Indians." While it's true that the Wampanoag and the planters shared in a harvest celebration, within fifty years, the Wampanoag would no longer be a free people. For some Native Americans, Thanksgiving is no cause for celebration, but rather serves as a reminder of colonization's devastating impact on Indigenous peoples.

In this activity, students will review two written works by Native American authors. The first—speech written by Wamsutta James in 1970—gave birth to the National Day of Mourning, which is observed on Thanksgiving by some Indigenous people. To them, Thanksgiving is "a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their culture." The Day of Mourning, on the other hand, is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection, as well as a protest of the racism and oppression that Native Americans continue to experience.

The second document is an essay by Jacqueline Keeler, a member of the Dineh Nation and the Yankton Dakota Sioux; she works with the American Indian Child Resource Center in Oakland, Calif. Unlike some of her Native peers, Keeler celebrates Thanksgiving. And unlike most non-Native Americans, she does so through a distinctly Indigenous lens.