As the holiday season starts, I would like to say Happy Thanksgiving! But I would also like to acknowledge the narrative surrounding Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is portrayed as the unity and coming together of “Pilgrims” and Native Americans. This story is pushed to us during childhood. But, we rarely discuss how Indigenous people were ripped from their land, slaughtered and poisoned by the “Pilgrims” in efforts to colonize. We are continuously seeing the sacred land of Indigenous people being taken today too.
Today, I as Eternallyfeminist urge you to think about the inaccurate story of Thanksgiving and how you can effect the current circumstances of Indigenous people. As we all should know, the Dakota Access Pipeline is removing Indigenous people from their sacred land while also poisoning their water. We all are in a position to help Indigenous communities there. Helping can mean more than donating. You can educate yourself about the history of colonization, slaughter, dehumanization in the country. You can have this discussion with your family and friends. You can learn about the history of poisoning communities of color specifically Indigenous communities.
This Thanksgiving, I encourage you to do more research about this holiday and even consider donating (http://www.ocetisakowincamp.org) to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
Here are a list of accurate resources to look at and follow as DAPL continues to be an ongoing fight: Sacred Stone Camp, Indigenous Rising Media, Standing Rock Medic & Healer Council, Water Protector Legal Collective/NLG-formerly Red Owl Legal Collective, Indigenous Environmental Network, Kandi Mossett, Lastrealindians
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Be kind to yourself, a loved one and someone in need,
Eternallyfeminist
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