Thoughts on Thanksgiving

Sean Sherman, founder and CEO of The Sioux Chef and the author of The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, may have complicated and painful feelings about the Thanksgiving, but is offering up new ways to observe it.

Sherman, who hails from the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said the following in a piece for Time Magazine, which you should absolutely read in full:

“The thing is, we do not need the poisonous ‘pilgrims and Indians’ narrative. We do not need that illusion of past unity to actually unite people today. Instead, we can focus simply on values that apply to everybody: togetherness, generosity and gratitude. And we can make the day about what everybody wants to talk and think about anyway: the food.

People may not realize it, but what every person in this country shares, and the very history of this nation, has been in front of us the whole time. Most of our Thanksgiving recipes are made with indigenous foods: turkey, corn, beans, pumpkins, maple, wild rice and the like. We should embrace this.”

Deanna Kalian, a recent graduate from Mount Holyoke College had this to say about Native American Heritage Month. Writing in Mount Holyoke News, an independent student newspaper:

November is also Native American Heritage Month, a time to recognize the talents of the many Native Americans who have contributed to American culture. Here are five Native American writers you should know:

Louise Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, has written 15 novels and has also published volumes of poetry, children’s books, short stories and a memoir. Her novels have received numerous awards; her first, “Love Medicine,” won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Another book, “The Plague of Doves,” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.