This week is a big week for traditions, family and food. These traditions have come at a harmful cost. The creation of a story that erases the narrative of the original people of this land, the fractured generations of family and culture lost and changed or destroyed landscape of native plants/food and medicines and food sovereignty. We know that many people wrestle with celebrating, don’t celebrate at all or that they have reframed how they celebrate this colonizer holiday.
What is important is that we recognize what this holiday is, the history, how it has evolved and what that means to us and our values now. Being engaged and educating yourself about whose land you’re living on is a good starting point. Sharing social media posts that call out the truth about this “holiday” and the impacts it has had on generations of Indigenous people is a good starting point. Many Indigenous communities have events this week that include volunteer activities on land clean up, garden maintenance and food sharing for those in need. There are also plenty of food banks and meal kitchens that need volunteers to help the community.
Giving your time or money is a good start. If we are reframing this so-called holiday in terms of Thanks and Giving, maybe it can become a stronger force for Indigenous ways of living which include; mutual aid, holistic wellness, regenerative agriculture, food sovereignty, cultural restoration and reclamation and begin to heal the harm created by the initial lie that was created.
Along with the holiday there are giving days where you can put your money to organizations and businesses that you believe in and that need your support. We encourage you to donate to small and local businesses and organizations, especially Indigenous and Black owned and or operated.
For more information on how to find who’s land you’re on: https://native-land.ca/
The Dark True History of Thanksgiving: https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2020/11/25/the-true-dark-history-of-thanksgiving/
To Donate to The UPRISE Collective please visit our website at www.theuprisecollective.org. All of the donations received go directly to our programming to ensure our programs remain free, open to the public and accessible.
