Decolonizing Thanksgiving

Universities, school districts nationwide call for 'decolonizing' Thanksgiving: 'Day of mourning'

As families across the U.S. gather on Thanksgiving to celebrate one of the nation’s most cherished national holidays, some educators and schools are lamenting the day, pushing back on its "colonial" roots, and incorporating diversity, equality and inclusion DEI into the holiday.


At the University of California, Davis, the California History-Social Science Project, which describes itself as "Resources & professional learning for K-12 history-social science," hosted a Zoom event called "Decolonizing Thanksgiving in the Classroom."

"We will discuss reframing classroom practices and rituals about Thanksgiving," the event description explained. "Centering perspectives from Turtle Island (a name for North America used by some indigenous people) will help us decolonize Thanksgiving and spark new conversations about how to authentically make meaning of this holiday with our students."

Earlier this month, Washington University in St. Louis, an institution that has long been criticized over its DEI policies, put out a press release promoting an event that "highlights and honors the way different cultures recognize and understand Thanksgiving, both as part of their history and as a tradition brought into the present day."

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