Thanksgiving can be a celebration, but we should look into its history of erasure

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner. For most of us, that means packing our bags and heading home for a week of well-needed rest and a pause from the monotony of the dining halls. During a time of warmth and gratitude, recognizing the grim history behind a celebration that has become almost synonymous with being American can feel awkward and improper.

As an Indian American, my Thanksgiving experience might differ from the average American family’s. At my table, we have the staple turkey, but it is surrounded by a plethora of Indian dishes like naan, chana masala, golgappa — I could go on. My family uses any minor event as an excuse to invite and feed people, and Thanksgiving is no exception. The holiday presents a way for us to immerse ourselves in American culture while incorporating elements of our own.

My parents were never aware of the holiday’s roots. And for a long time, neither was I.

Growing up, we’re taught that Thanksgiving is a wholesome holiday. The Indigenous people greeted the English settlers with a feast and taught them how to grow crops on American soil. It symbolized peace and the bountiful dinner made the day all the more memorable. In many schools, children even dress up as English and Indigenous people.

According to Lainey Scanlan and Rhiannon Abrams, members of Syracuse University’s 113 Euclid, the root of the issue lies in how we present Thanksgiving to children as the education system perpetuates a cycle of disorientation that surrounds the holiday. Scanlan emphasizes the value of mindfulness in the role of “de-stigmatizing the holiday,” given its glossed-over representation in many textbooks and classrooms.

As adults who didn’t grow up in America, my parents’ initial understanding of Thanksgiving came from younger me, who confidently explained that it was a tradition that honored the celebration between the “other Indians” and the Pilgrims many years ago. Understanding of the United States’ history and culture were the few areas where my parents depended on me for accuracy. Surely the “superior” American education system could never fail.

I was constantly fed this idea of friendship and mutual accord revolving around Thanksgiving, but it never sat right with me how I had never met someone from an Indigenous background. Growing up in South Florida, I was surrounded by people of almost every culture, and yet I had never known anyone who could claim ancestry to this place that the rest of us called “our home away from home.” This budding question within me sparked a deeper investigation into the unfiltered answers I sought and believe we all deserve.

Thanksgiving represents a celebration of white America. It is a yearly reminder for Indigenous peoples of how colonialism has dwindled their populations and rid them of ownership of a land they knew best.

This realization was uncomfortable for me. After all, it wasn’t me or my ancestors who had colonized this land. Still, it was distressing to acknowledge my part in a history that felt so removed from me. I now recognize that this is what we’re all called to do. We’re supposed to feel uncomfortable about the land we’re living on.

Now, at Syracuse, acknowledging this land I call my third home is even more essential. With the vibrant presence of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and 113 Euclid on campus, it is easier than ever to participate in a cause that we should all be involved in: the preservation of Indigenous peoples and culture.

Being at SU, I’ve come to realize how important it is to engage with ideas and concepts that go beyond my scope of understanding. Unlearning beliefs about Thanksgiving was just the beginning; it opened my eyes to how differently I saw the world when I allowed myself the space to feel discomfort.

Giving up Thanksgiving is not easy. Abrams and Scanlan recognize this struggle and acknowledge that Thanksgiving has become an almost integral part of American culture. Rather than abolish the holiday completely, they emphasize that “Thanksgiving is every day.” Being mindful in this context has different meanings. Every day is an opportunity to be mindful of our blessings but also mindful of whose sacrifice that entailed.

So, instead, I encourage you to read up on Thanksgiving with an open mind. Research the nations native to the land you and your family now call home. Eat well and then some. Try to bring up what you’ve learned at the dinner table, and those willing to listen will.

Christy Joshy is a freshman TKTKT major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at cjoshy@syr.edu.