Abraham Lincoln of "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that" fame called for "Thanksgiving" specifically to celebrate the fruits of the genocide of Indigenous people. Mark Charles, author of Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, has a free book study and lecture on the history of the holiday:
Learning for Justice has an excellent guide for educators:
Teaching about Thanksgiving in a socially responsible way means that educators accept the ethical obligation to provide students with accurate information and to reject traditions that sustain harmful stereotypes about Indigenous peoples. Thankfully, there are excellent online resources that can help educators interested in disrupting the hegemonic Thanksgiving story.
Project Archeology provides links to resources and activities adaptable for all grade levels.
The National Museum of the American Indian offers a comprehensive resource with teacher-facing ideas and activities for grades 4-8.
Plimoth Plantation has a Just for Teachers section that outlines professional development opportunities, workshops, a virtual Thanksgiving field trip and activities that incorporate the Wampanoag perspective. In one interactive activity, kids are detectives figuring out what really happened at the first meal.
The Mashpee/Wampanoag Tribe’s brief history and cultural timeline outlines the nation’s “contact experience” from their contemporary perspective.
Challenging the dominant and inaccurate narrative about Thanksgiving, providing students with a more balanced perspective of this oft-romanticized holiday, and refusing to dress students in feathered headbands are socially responsible actions. They’re actions that every teacher should undertake to benefit their students and the society their students will inherit.
