Let’s Talk About the Spiritual Significance of Thanksgiving

November 24, 2021

For many, it’s a time for family, food, and football - beloved, lifelong traditions.

For others, it’s a day of deep mourning, the reminder of a brutal history that led to the erasure of their people, culture, homeland, and gave rise to the systemic issues that continue to harm and oppress them today.

Can you hold these two truths?

If you’re reading this, you’re likely deconstructing your faith, as well as working to dismantle patriarchal ideologies, institutions and belief systems. However, to do either of those things effectively, you also have to decolonize them.

And if you celebrate Thanksgiving, then do so without any illusion and with the honesty and candor the day deserves.

Give light to what was kept in the dark for so long.

One of the ways to do this is by refusing to white-wash and sugar-coat Thanksgiving. Consider this your invitation to step outside the narrative we were fed as children to learn the real, genocidal history of the holiday - that the early days of thanks celebrated the burning of a Pequot village in 1637, and the killing of Wampanoag leader Massasoit’s son, among other atrocities.

Acknowledgement is the first step towards healing.

Take the time to remember and offer reverence to the Indigenous people of this land who suffered at the hands of European colonizers - those we called “Americans”.

Let go of the romanticized notion of Thanksgiving and learn the true story from the Indigenous perspective that has been suppressed for hundreds of years.

Here are some things you can do to honor the spiritual significance of Thanksgiving while supporting and affirming Native communities today and all year-round:

If you're looking for an alternative to Thanksgiving, fast rather than feast. Recognize the day for what it is - a period of mourning. Thanksgiving as we know it, is a ritual of colonization. Instead, you can rest, reflect, meditate, pray, and spend it educating yourself and your loved ones. Plan a celebration for the end of the fast on the day after, which is Native American Heritage Day.
Celebrate Indigenous cuisine. Add a recipe from an Indigenous chef to your table, with a focus on local, sustainable ingredients. A simple google search will yield a plethora to choose from.
Speak about Native people in a respectful way and refrain from calling them “Indians” or having your kids “dress up” as them or Pilgrims.
Learn the true history of Native people (including Christopher Columbus) and make sure it’s being taught to your children by asking teachers and schools about their lesson plans, particularly for Thanksgiving.
Support Native-led initiatives and Native-owned business. You can get more information at websites like powwows.com, narf.org, nativephilanthropy.org and nativebusiness.directory. Search “Native owned” on Etsy to support Indigenous artists and communities.
Acknowledge whose land you are on at this very moment. Go to native-land.ca and type in your zip code to see which tribal territory you call home, then create a ritual or prayer to honor its sacred, eternal, Indigenous spirit. If possible, make financial contributions to that specific tribe. If not, support tribes local to your area.