Americans know the typical Thanksgiving story with pilgrims and Native Americans coming together for a big feast. But some Native Americans people say the harsh reality is that this narrative isn’t the full truth and they still struggle with the historical context behind this holiday to this day.
“[Thanksgiving] is so difficult because in school they make it seem like people are lost at sea and we are very giving, so we decide to have this big feast together,” San Jose State political science alumna Teresa Gomez said. “In reality, you know, a lot of native children, whether it’s their family or their blood memory, remembers that’s not the truth.”
Gomez’s family is originally from Arizona and are descendants of the Yaqui people, an Indigenous group who live in Mexico. She believes that being of Indigenous Mexican ancestry was difficult and confusing as a child because she knew what she was taught in schools wasn’t correct.
“It’s especially painful when teachers have everyone dressed up as pilgrims and Indians and they have the feathers in their hair, without even understanding the meaning of our feathers and why they’re so sacred to us,” she said.
The eagle’s feather symbolizes the bravest, strongest and holiest person and Native Americans are gifted eagle feathers by their community to honor them with dignity and pride, according to Native Hope, a nonprofit organization that aims to dismantle barriers for unheard Native individuals.
Some Native American people are still holding onto these traditions as well as acknowledging the narrative of “thanks taking.”
“This holiday in particular is one that has this foundational story of America that is based on half truths in a lot of ways,” Chicana and Chicano studies lecturer Jesus Covarrubias said over Zoom.
Covarrubias said the pilgrims celebrated the massacre by feasting.
“There’s a lot of these other different kinds of stories, of horrific tragedies and genocidal massacres of Indigenous people and it’s ironic to see that in elementary schools this isn’t really told,” Covarrubias said. “I think children are pretty smart, so I don’t think we should underestimate what kids can or cannot handle.”
He said the past still impacts Native Americans to this day, but they have found ways to flip the script by celebrating more than 500 years of resisting colonialism.
Gomez said as a child, she would go with her family to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco on Thanksgiving to attend an annual sunrise ceremony, a native celebration aiming to reclaim the holiday.
The ceremony, “Unthanksgiving Day,” is for Native American people to commemorate their resistance, according to a Nov. 22 article from The Guardian.
It includes cultural dance, prayers and speeches to acknowledge the history and modern political battles, like family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border and threatening environmental issues, like the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline on the Standing Rock tribe’s reservation.
Covarrubias said the sunrise ceremony is mainly a Bay Area celebration.
“It’s just a way to do an Indigenous ceremony honoring the rising sun and giving thanks,” he said.
Gomez said Native Americans celebrate their resistance and existence on Thanksgiving after surviving generations of unspeakable violence.
“Even though we’re still hurting, we’re still here, we’re still alive and we’re still creating [the] beauty of love,” she said. “It’s really a beautiful moment of empowerment and I think even forgiveness and health, at least for me. I can’t speak for every native person.”
Even though Gomez doesn’t celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving, she said it’s a time for her to honor
her ancestors.
“I celebrate [not Thanksgiving] because my family has been here before this was the United States,”
Gomez said.
Joey Montoya, an SJSU advertising alumnus and founder of a Native American apparel brand,
Urban Native Era, said he still plans to celebrate the holiday by spending time with his family, but he will not officially recognize Thanksgiving.
Montoya was born and raised in San Francisco and is Lipan Apache, a tribe who historically lived in Texas.
“These bigger holidays for me is the one time where I can actually sit down with family and enjoy their presence,” he said over Zoom.
Montoya learned about Thanksgiving as a child and at nine years old, his family told him the story of how his ancestors were massacred, separated from their family and removed from their homes.
Montoya decided to stop recognizing Thanksgiving and began attending the sunrise ceremonies at
Alcatraz Island.
He has been going to the sunrise ceremony for the past eight years.
“It’s nice to be around our community on that day and really not celebrating Thanksgiving,” he said. “But acknowledging our ancestors, acknowledging the people who really paved the way for us to be here.”
Montoya said he felt a call for him to share the issues Native Americans face and decided to start his apparel business to spread awareness.
“Overall it became more than just a job. Not that it was ever just a job for me, it was just something that I was really passionate about spreading awareness,” Montoya said. “I knew it would help our community out in a different way.”
He said he wants to pay homage to his ancestors and the Native Americans who once inhabited the Bay Area.
“I really urge people overall to begin these conversations whether that’s at the dinner table at Thanksgiving or wherever it is,” Montoya said. “I think it’s really important to tell this reality.”
