This year as we approach Thanksgiving, we invite you to join us at our Rethinking “Traditional” Thanksgiving Storytime, and the activities we’ve set up to follow or, if you can’t make it in person, to engage with any of the resources we’ve gathered together here.
Storytime & Activities
Please join us at the Children’s Diversity & Justice Library on Saturday November 22 for an opportunity to thoughtfully engage with Thanksgiving.
At 10:30am in the CDJL we will share at least three stories written by Native authors and centering the voices of Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples to help us rethink what we’ve been told and taught about Thanksgiving. Storytime starts at 1:00pm and runs for approximately 30 minutes.
After storytime you will have the chance to participate in some activities such as exploring the Native Land Digital interactive online map to learn about who's land we are inhabiting, decorating land acknowledgement table tents for your Thanksgiving table and creating thank you notes for anyone who has helped you.
resources
Here are some suggestions for books to read with kids, as well as resources for how to engage with the themes of Thanksgiving, and some great educational materials for us as adults!
Do you know who the indigenous inhabitants were/are of the land where you live? You can search your address at Native-Land.ca | Our home on native land. Then consider printing out this Land Acknowledgement Table Tent with the info you find, and display it during your Thanksgiving meal. You can also follow the links from the Native-Land site to learn more about the native peoples whose land you live on.
“Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story” is a fabulous new picture book that tells the story of Thanksgiving from the perspective of the Wampanoag people. And the book’s website also has educational material including a section on “rethinking Thanksgiving” and lesson plans that could be adapted by families for exploring “The Real Thanksgiving” and “The Three sisters” for older kids and youth. https://keepunumuk.com/
After reading Keepunumuk, try making your own Three Sisters Salad with this version from the Cherokee Tribal Food Distribution System https://food.ebci-nsn.gov/2021/07/19/three-sisters-salad/
Traci Sorell, author of "We Are Grateful" and “We Are Still Here” (both in our Children’s Diversity & Justice Library collection) and enrolled Cherokee National member shares her thoughts on talking with children about Thanksgiving - https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/11/16/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-thanksgiving
“Decolonizing Thanksgiving: A Toolkit for Combatting Racism in Schools” has info that’s relevant for families as well as educators, including a list of resources & books for further exploration - https://tinyurl.com/decolonizingthanksgivingkit
Instead of First Thanksgiving myth stories, how about sharing some books that honor Native American Heritage Month with kids? - Reading While White: What Does Thanksgiving Make You Think Of?
American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving - here’s a document from the National Museum of the American Indian that is a GREAT resource that also has suggestions for younger kids as well as older kids - https://americanindian.si.edu/sites/1/files/pdf/education/thanksgiving_poster.pdf
This blog post from a librarian has a fascinating exploration of the history of the Pilgrims-and-Indians myth’s association with the Thanksgiving holiday (Hint: it didn’t start when you think it did…) -https://amomssparetime.blogspot.com/.../11/thanksgiving.html