At this week's Round Table, Inica, Kenisha, Madeline, and Vanessa talked about the complexities involved in reflecting on and celebrating Thanksgiving (and many holidays), building on last year’s #RedefineThanksgiving episode. We engaged with a panoply of important questions: Is it OK to celebrate Thanksgiving? Should we be changing how we celebrate based on what we understand about the historical roots--and should Native Americans be the ones reshaping the tradition? Should we be celebrating native people, or native suffering? How do we appropriately honor the historic legacy--and debunk false ideas--within and beyond classrooms? How can we walk the fine line between celebrating a holiday that has sentimental value for many of us without belittling very real historical suffering and exploitation? Are the ideals of gratitude and cooperation worth celebrating symbolically even if they’re not rooted in historic precedent? Is what the holiday has come to mean in America today more important than whatever happened 300 years ago? Does repeated reflection on the oppression Native Americans faced in fact draw attention AWAY from current issues, honing our focus on past wrongs instead of present ones? But what are the dangers of overlooking historical atrocities? And, perhaps most importantly, how do WE as individuals acknowledge all the baggage and still have a good time this holiday, given that coming together for celebration is so important—more this year than ever in the wake of Covid? Madeline reminded us that there’s nothing we can do about the past, it’s how we look at things moving forward that matters, and the deeper and more diverse education we can provide on these fronts, the better. We hope this podcast is part of that education. Thank you for listening!
