{"id":2084,"date":"2019-11-01T00:17:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T00:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/parentswholead.org\/?p=2084"},"modified":"2020-08-01T00:44:11","modified_gmt":"2020-08-01T00:44:11","slug":"taking-on-the-myth-of-thanksgiving-by-jaclyn-roessel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parentswholead.org\/es\/taking-on-the-myth-of-thanksgiving-by-jaclyn-roessel\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking on the Myth of Thanksgiving by Jaclyn Roessel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that November is #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth<\/a>?

As you spend time with family and reflect on this season of giving thanks, we wanted to share some insight from Jaclyn Roessel, from the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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352423003Photo of Jaclyn Roessel by Warren Montoya<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Growing up as a Din\u00e9 woman, I was taught to carry on my cultural practices of reverence for land and place. I was molded by the beliefs, prayers, and encouragement of my parents and grandmothers, and was raised hearing stories of our creation\u2014stories that relate us to the world around us. In my community, fall brings with it a full of appreciation of the harvest and new practices to welcome the colder months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this time is filled with reverence\ninternally, outside of my community the fall season is also full of\ncringe-worthy debacles. Between the racist costumes that arise around\nHalloween, the offensive mascots that storm the field, and the continued\nperpetuation of the false history of Thanksgiving, this season is challenging\nas a Native person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the 1990s, the federal government has\ndeclared November \u201cNative American Heritage Month.\u201d This year, however, the\nWhite House made another tactical effort to malign Native communities and\nNations, proclaiming November as \u201cNational American History and Founders\nMonth.\u201d The announcement centers colonizers and \u201cfounding fathers,\u201d\ninvisibilizing the Indigenous people whose land was taken and the millions of\nIndigenous lives lost since contact because of genocide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Philip Deloria asks\nin his essay<\/a>, \u201cThe Invention of\nThanksgiving,\u201d \u201chow does one take on a myth?\u201d At the USDAC we know that is not\nas simple as saying Indigenous peoples \u201care still here.\u201d These times call on\nall of us to deconstruct the myths and falsehoods related to the \u201cfounding\u201d of\nthis country, and to work in active solidarity with Native communities. At the\nUSDAC, we want to offer a few ways we might start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start Conversations + Take Action<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n