By JAZMIN GOMEZ
As Thanksgiving approaches, Americans must remember their country’s history and learn its lasting impact. The Thanksgiving myth of harmony and gratitude thrives in the minds of the uneducated. Although the saying states ignorance is bliss, arguably, the ignorance in this instance quickly escalates to arrogance. The real story details a violent genocide followed by an unwilling alliance. No celebratory feast, no friendly “Indians”, no concession of American land ever existed. Created as propaganda during the Civil War to fein solidarity, the holiday always celebrated the bloody colonization of Native people and perpetuated a harmful myth that silences hundreds of years of Native brutality.
Learning the truth about Thanksgiving should act as an American’s duty before attempting to celebrate the holiday. Learning the present-day Native struggle should immediately follow. Many people equate colonization with the past, effectively forgetting its consequences. Yet, modern colonialism exists today, affecting everyday life. Defined as an oppressive rule of the majority and the erasure of culture, modern colonization obliterates freedom.
For Indigenous people, this truth infects their present struggle for water access and quality. In June, seven tribal nations filed a motion to protect the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tribal Reserved Rights Rule after 12 states filed a lawsuit against it, according to the Native American Rights Fund. The rule protects water quality control and pollution limits for bodies of water under the Clean Water Act. Since many tribes’ lifestyles rely on the quality of the earth, water, and air, the sustainability of these elements is vital.
The twelve states intending to halt the rule that directly preserves Native health and wellness display economic colonization. For monetary gain, the multiple governments seem willing to exploit Native people for their land and degrade their way of life. Without this rule, Native people will need to substitute their uses of water for fishing and gathering for ulterior methods, perhaps leaning towards commercialization.
Even the destruction of religious sites demonstrates religious imperialism. In October, 44 tribal nations and eight organizations filed a brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the Apache Stronghold v. United States case. The brief urges the court to overrule the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision that sanctions a foreign-owned mining company to take over Chí’chil Biłdagoteel, or “Oat Flat,” according to the Native Rights Fund.
Oat Flat effectively acts as a sacred place of worship for the Western Apache people since time immemorial. The authorized destruction of this religious site definitely demonstrates the prejudice and undervaluation courts apply to Native rights, but perhaps this alludes to a larger motive. Eradicating religious sites erases community worship. Without a shared space to connect, the Western Apache people’s religion remains on the individual level, hindering the spread of their religion.
Both these examples indicate methods of cultural assimilation. As Native people resort to more capitalistic means of consumption and lose certain religious practices, they embrace Americanization more and more. Native American people become stripped of their identity to resemble the American norm. Yet, who sets the norm? Is to be American, to be White? A lean toward Whiteness has a different meaning than the White identity, one is an ideology the other is biology.
Before celebrating Thanksgiving this holiday season, reflect on if you’re celebrating history or celebrating the applied values corporate America gives Thanksgiving to make a profit. Celebrating a nationwide cash grab is more honorable than genocide.
This represents only a fraction of the Native struggles happening right now. I urge you to visit the Native American Rights Fund and educate yourself on the ongoing fight.
https://www.ncai.org/section/vawa/overview/key-statistics
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4167108
Featured Image: Allison Bailey
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