On Thanksgiving, We Remember

Many of us have grown up hearing the “fairy tale” version of Thanksgiving– a mythical story of Europeans and Native Americans getting along and sharing a meal. In reality, the history is marred with murder, disease and genocide which is why many of us refer to it as the “National Day of Mourning.”

This week in our staff meeting, we questioned the status quo and asked each other why certain narratives become mainstream “truths”, and other narratives get erased. (Spoiler alert: it’s not an accident and is still happening today). The story we are told about Thanksgiving benefits those in power, justifies colonization, and normalizes the exploitation that our country was founded on. 

SOMOS Mayfair is committed to developing and promoting alternative solutions centering the voices of the most impacted. 

We want to offer some alternative ways to observe Thanksgiving and uplift Native people’s stories (both their history, and their current struggles). We wanted to share these resources with our community, so we have linked them all in our bio!

1. Learn about the land you inhabit, and the indigenous groups who have historically stewarded it: https://native-land.ca/ 

2. Redistribute your money towards rematriation, and pay your Shuumi Land Tax. The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is located in the East Bay and doing great work. https://sogoreate-landtrust.org/ 

3. Join alternative celebrations & spaces of resistance

   1. San Jose Sunrise Ceremony At Mexican Heritage Plaza 5am-9am 1700 Alum Rock, Mexican Heritage Plaza https://www.aztecadancers.com/sunrise-ceremony

   2. Alcatraz Indigenous People’s Sunrise  Ceremony  5AM https://www.oursausalito.com/alcatraz/thanksgiving-alcatraz-indigenous-peoples-sunrise-gathering.html

   3. National Day of Mourning uaine.org/default.htm 

4. If you learn from videos, check out a few that we watched as staff: 

   1. 6 Native American Girls Describe the Real History Behind Thanksgiving (2 minutes)

   2. The First Thanksgiving: What Really Happened (6 minutes)

5. If you prefer books, check out these:

   1. “An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz http://www.beacon.org/An-Indigenous-Peoples-History-of-the-United-States-P1164.aspx 

   2. “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown https://bookshop.org/p/books/bury-my-heart-at-wounded-knee-an-indianhistory-of-the-american-west-dee-brown/15997696?ean=9780805086843

6. Learn about AIM (American Indian Movement) and the Red Power movement https://muscarelle.wm.edu/rising/legacy/ 

7. Add Indigenous food to your gatherings https://www.britannica.com/story/18-food-crops-developed-in-the-americas

Wishing you a season of abundance and rest,

The SOMOS Mayfair Team