Truthsgiving Resources
Last updated 11/27/2024
~Unlearning the History of Thankstaking~
Curated by Neftali Duran for the I-Collective
This is a collection of writings and videos to help orient you to the reality of this season and unlearn the white colonizer myths surrounding the November holiday so that you may honor the historical and current struggles for Indigenous sovereignty that are obscured by the dominant narrative.
This fall, Americans celebrating Thanksgiving as a time of family and bounty while the U.S. government funds and supports Israel’s genocide in Gaza, escalating violence and land grabs in the West Bank, and repression of Palestinians living within the state, simply feels wrong. Indigenous people from the americas are in solidarity with the people of Palestine because we see our own history and current struggles reflected in their plight. Those of us who work in food systems especially can see direct parallels between the colonial strategies deployed by Israel to subjugate Palestinians, and those we’ve experienced in the americas – the calculated destruction and control of our lands, water, crops, and traditional foodways.
Should you decide to celebrate this holiday, we encourage you to use it as an opportunity to educate yourselves and your family about historical and current struggles for Indigenous land and food sovereignty where you live, in Palestine, and around the world. One way you can help to transform the legacy of genocide and land theft of this country is to take action now to end the active genocide in Gaza which the U.S. is supporting. Let’s stop repeating this history!
(We stand in solidarity with all the genocides and violence happening around the world in the name of Colonial Imperialism, particularly the Congo and Sudan.)
2024 Resources
Native America Calling 11/27/2024 Radio Show
Resources for teachers & children From the Smithsonian Museum of American Indian
Thanksgiving in Native Communities Video
For Indigneous people like me By Brenda Beyal, Diné Nation 11/27/2024
Birth of the myth of thanksgiving Video 11/26/2024
The assasination of Annie Mae Hulu 2024
Native book list 2024 by Flyleaf books in Chapel Hill NC
2023 resources by I-Collective , FIG and Hospitality for humanity
Should America Keep Celebrating Thanksgiving?
In Our Words: An Indigenous Story of Thanksgiving
Frybread face and me, Netflix 11/24/23
Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse takes on the 'wild mess' of Thanksgiving 11/21/23
8 Historical Moments More Important to Native Americans Than the ‘First Thanksgiving’ 11/21/23
This Thanksgiving read a Native American Poet’s song of healing
Meet the People of the First Light
A new book for kids written by Wampanoag authors: https://keepunumuk.com
Take Action, Learn & Connect with the Palestinian struggle
Hospitality for Humanity : An appeal to food and hospitality community to take action now for Gaza
Act Now Against these Companies Profiting From Genocide: Detailed guide of our targeted consumer boycotts, divestment and pressure campaigns
Palestine is Getting Free: FIG’s food and land worker virtual teach-in about building a movement for collective liberation
A Growing Culture’s panel: Palestinian food/agricultural and environmental workers
The Right of Return is Landback : NDN Collective position paper connecting Palestinian and Native struggles and history
Using Food as Weapon in Palestine: Seeding Sovereignty social media resource
Palestine’s Freedom is Connected to Our Own as Americans, Studio Atao
All Out for Palestine: Digital Action Toolkit, Palestinian Feminist Collective
Palestinian Culture : a primer
People of the land Videos: This collection of short films delves into the ways that occupation affects the environment and explores the connection the Palestinian people have to land and nature
Decolonize Palestine: A collection of resources for people who want to learn more about Palestine
When does a Native become a Settler? A peer reviewed paper that discusses the claim that Zionists are Indigenous to Palestine
Responding to Zionists and Moderates: A helpful document to combat the misinformation/ propaganda being spread by the Western media
2022 resources
Indigenous Chef Keeps Wampanoag Traditions Alive in Her Kitchen, Sept. 29, 2022, Boston Globe
How some Indigenous chefs observe Thanksgiving – or don’t, CNN, Nov. 23, 2022
Chef Elena Terry: Why I Don’t Celebrate Thanksgiving, November 2022, Madison Magazine
Indigenous Peoples Day Gathering Asks for Commitment, Oct. 12, 2022, Vineyard Gazette
Why The Gold Rush Is One Of The Darkest Moments In US History | Whitewashed, April 2021
First Nations Bedtime Stories, Storytelling Week, Common Ground, November 2022
A Gathering Basket, Issue 4, Rematriation Webinar, Oct. 26, 2022, i-Collective
2021 Resources
Thanksgiving is a year-round practice of giving thanks, NPR, Nov. 24, 2021
A Thanksgiving History Lesson in a Handful of Corn, Nov. 22, 2021 NYT
Truth and the turkey tale, Hulu 2021
A Wampanoag retelling of Thanksgiving. November 2021, Red Power Media
Thanksgiving Brainpop jr, November 2020
A Wampanoag retelling of Thanksgiving
Epanow story tolks by Linda Coombs, 2014
Please watch/listen to this first:
- Linda Coombs, a member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe, discusses the real history of ‘The FIrst Thanksgiving’ and the arrival of the Pilgrims and the importance of learning the real history. (12 minutes)
- All My Relations Podcast:Wampanoag scholars Paula Peters and Linda Coombs, who tell us the real story of Thanksgiving, from an Indigenous Perspective (55 minutes)
- Toasted Sisters Podcast: Episode 70, The Thanksgiving Episode (43 minutes)
Other important videos of Indigenous Voices:
- A Thanksgiving Message From Standing Rock (5 minutes)
- Thanksgiving | Native Americans | One Word | Cut (2 minutes)
- Native perspectives on Thanksgiving: Dakota MacColl (Plains Cree/Métis) and Geena Tsosie (Diné) share how they approach the complicated holiday Thanksgiving (4 minutes)
- What does Thanksgiving mean to Native Americans? (2 minutes)
Articles:
- What you learned about the ‘first Thanksgiving’ isn’t true. Here’s the real story. Eryn Dion. USA TODAY. 2020
- The Invention of Thanksgiving: Massacres, myths, and the making of the great November holiday. Philip Deloria. The New Yorker. 2020.
- Decolonizing Thanksgiving And Reviving Indigenous Relationships to Food. M Karlos Baca. NDN Collective. 2018.
- 3 Indigenous Chefs Explain What Thanksgiving Means to Them. Priya Krishna. Healthyish.2019.
- An Indigenous Chef Examines Her Relationship With Thanksgiving. Zach Johnston. UPROXX. 2018
- This Thanksgiving, Make These Native Recipes From Indigenous Chefs. Garin Pirnia. Huffington Post. 2020.
- Thanksgiving Promotes Whitewashed History, So I Organized Truthsgiving Instead By Sikowis, aka, Christine Nobiss. Bustle 2018.
- Sean Sherman, The Sioux Chef: ‘This Is The Year To Rethink Thanksgiving’. Julie Kendrick. Huffington Post. 2020.
- The Thanksgiving Myth Gets a Deeper Look This Year. Brett Anderson. NYTimes.2020
- The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I’ve Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday. Sean Sherman. Time. 2018
- Indigenous Chefs On Traditional Cooking And Their Complicated Relationship With Thanksgiving. Lena Abraham. Delish. 2020.
- 400 Years After the ‘First Thanksgiving,’ the Tribe Who Fed the Pilgrims Continues to Fight for Their Land Amid Another Epidemic. Olivia Waxman. Time
- Hillel Echo-Hawk: 'If You Take Over A People’s Food, You Take Over The People': How this cook uses Native cooking and culture to challenge long-standing beliefs about food.Kai Oliver-Kurtin. Huffington Post. 2020.
Other Resources:
We encourage you to stream or rent this movie and watch it with your family. It features members of the Wampanoag tribe, Twila (San Carlos Apache, I-Collective), as well as other Indigenous persons and shows their work to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide.
Resources for Children:
(This is a new section to offer age-appropriate resources for our young ones. Please share resources if you have them.)