Thanksgiving is complicated.
Most people recognize that although giving thanks for the people and privileges in your life is absolutely a wonderful thing to do, Thanksgiving as a holiday comes with a history that is less than favorable—if we’re using understatements. It celebrates an era in American history of deceit, exploitation, and, frankly, genocide by completely neglecting to acknowledge its history at all. Decontextualizing Thanksgiving is pretty much in the same boat as celebrating “Columbus Day;” they both celebrate a whitewashed, hyperoptimistic image of American history at the expense of marginalized populations. Of course it is important to have gratitude for the privileges—big and small—that we enjoy every day, and I certainly see the value in setting aside a day completely devoted to recognizing all that we have to be thankful for. But isn’t that a problem in itself? Isn’t it somewhat selfish and ignorant to celebrate everything good in our lives while disregarding the history that brought us here?
While most non-Native Americans simply use Thanksgiving as a day to sit down with family members, pass turkey and mashed potatoes around a table, and profess their thankfulness, many Natives are burdened by a duality embodied by the Thanksgiving holiday. Long before the Pilgrims first arrived or the “First Thanksgiving” was celebrated, the practice of ceremoniously expressing gratitude was an important tradition within Native American culture. However, behind the dark veil of American history that Natives do not have the privilege to ignore, Thanksgiving is now also a day of mourning. Americans who have benefited from a history of the seizure of Native land can celebrate all of the good that Thanksgiving brings, but those whose ancestors suffered directly at the hands of settlers, and who continue to suffer in their memory, shoulder the burden of a history of oppression that was largely built on the mythology perpetuated by the ideals set forth in the “First Thanksgiving.”
Yes, I know that this is something that most people know or have at least heard. And yes, innumerable articles and stories and books have been written that profess this exact same sentiment. Yet, I still don’t know if many people take the time on this day of giving thanks for their own, rather self-centered purposes to also truly recognize what the holiday stands for and who may be disenfranchised at the expense of the holiday.
In addition to Natives suffering from the erasure of their history perpetuated by Thanksgiving, many other people grieve as a result of Thanksgiving. Those who suffer from homelessness or starvation in the frigid weather, who struggle with eating disorders and find themselves surrounded by food and snide comments, who suffer from mental health issues or mental illness and are excluded from “holiday cheer,” who have to work on Thanksgiving and late into “Black Friday” to support their families, who have no family members to celebrate with, who have broken families or neglectful families or families suffering from loss or any other kind of pain—these people must also be recognized on this holiday.
Of course we should be thankful that we have food (and, often, plenty or too much of it), roofs over our heads, good mental and physical health, family and friends who love us, and the privilege to celebrate this holiday. And I’m not trying to say that we shouldn’t celebrate all of these things today. It would be hypocritical of me to completely disparage Thanksgiving and call for the utter abandonment of the holiday altogether because, like many other Americans, I will be sitting down with my family and eating a Thanksgiving meal today. Instead, I implore you to use this Thanksgiving as an opportunity to be genuinely thankful for all that you have and also to acknowledge why you have it and who the others may be that don’t. Take some time to read more articles about the history of Thanksgiving; read stories from the perspectives of Native people (right now I’m reading “There There” by Tommy Orange for one of my classes, and I highly recommend it). Instead of saying “I am thankful for this Thanksgiving meal with my closest family and friends,” say, “I am thankful that I am privileged enough to experience Thanksgiving in an entirely positive way, by not having to work today to put all of this food on the table and having family and friends who love me at my side.” And make sure that you’re being mindful of your family and friends who attend your Thanksgiving celebration; you may not know that one of them could be suffering in a way that makes celebrating Thanksgiving difficult for them.
Thanksgiving is complicated. It can be beautiful, but it can also be harmful. Like many other aspects of American culture, it perpetuates a whitewashed history that erases the voices of marginalized people. But instead of completely abandoning Thanksgiving for this reason, find a way to use the holiday to acknowledge all that is admirable as well as horrific about America’s past (and present) and to give a voice to the voiceless. Give thanks and spread positivity—because we live in a time that desperately lacks the recognition of all that is good—but, in doing so, do not decontextualize your celebration or disregard the way others might experience the holiday.