Do Native Americans celebrate Thanksgiving?

The story of the first Thanksgiving re-enacted in classrooms throughout the United States has been romanticized beyond recognition. Understandably so, as the actual history of Native–non-Native relationships in Colonial New England is far too sad for young children. But stereotypical. read more

While for most Americans, Thanksgiving Day is for feasting, football and giving thanks, for Native Americans, it is a reminder of dead ancestors, racial slurs still being worn on football jerseys and families around the nation feasting on food from colonized agricultural land. read more

It is ironic that Thanksgiving takes place during American Indian and Alaskan Native Heritage Month. An even greater irony is that more Americans today identify the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday than as National American Indian Heritage Day. Reprinted with permission from the official blog of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. read more

The decision to celebrate Thanksgiving divides even Native Americans. Jacqueline Keeler wrote a widely circulated editorial about why she, a member of the Dineh Nation and Yankton Dakota Sioux, celebrates the holiday. read more

No, I don't celebrate. But I do take advantage of the holiday and get together with family and friends to share a large meal without once thinking of the Thanksgiving in 1621. I think it is the same in many Native households. It is ironic that Thanksgiving takes place during American Indian and Alaskan Native Heritage Month. read more