Happy "Not" Turkey Day
- Oct 9, 2016
- 2 min read
When you think of Thanksgiving day, what do you think of?
Food? A family get together? All of those warm fuzzy feelings of being with your family? Sadly, I've been educated in the true history of this day, and I have to say---I no longer have those warm and fuzzy thoughts about Thanksgiving. When I was 16 years old, I dated an Ojibwa boy. Brown skin, deep mahogany eyes that went on for days, and semi long raven black hair. His last name meant "Brave Beaver" in Ojibwa, and I was very much in love with him at that time. Then, as we went along in our budding relationship, October peeked its head around the corner, and while most white families celebrated in the traditional way that most white folks do, I was told something different by my native boyfriend at the time.
He had told me that "Thanksgiving" was a day of shame in the native community. That it's not a day of peace or warmth, and in fact was a very painful part of his, his brethren, and ancestors history. A history of blood, rape, and murder. A time when the Europeans came to North America, claiming it as their own, and killing the natives of this land. While being educated on this, I wondered to myself, "Why isn't this taught in school? How come we're taught something entirely different?"
And that's when my boyfriend at the time told me, "Because the white man doesn't want the truth to be known. He's always been against us, and the native community struggles every day not because we're lazy, or dumb, or whatever stereotype you want to place on us. It's because we had our society....our identity....our way of life taken from us. If that had happened to you, how would you react?" And he was right. How would I feel if my identity as, let's say, a woman was taken from me? Or my identity as a Latina? And not just me---but my whole culture? I can definitely say that would mess me up and generations therefore after. So, while many of you part take in the illusion of "Turkey Day", this is what I'll leave here to say, just to give you some food for thought. Educate yourselves in what the truth is. The truth is the truth, and even if it's ugly, it's real. It's unshakeable and you can work with it instead of something false. Turkey Day isn't the only day one can enjoy family time. So instead, I ask some of you to follow me in suit----Instead of eating until your stomachs explode, fast with me for 24hours. Fast to feel even a tiny pinch of the agony of what the indigenous endured during the time of their own history being wiped from their homes and land. With being a minimalist comes truth, and many people claim they would rather Truth in their lives, but once they hear it, they clam up in denial. This is me bringing you truth.
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