Rethinking "Traditional" Thanksgiving: Centering Native American Voices with Events and Resources

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

Saturday Storytimes Start This Week! Save all the dates!

Storytime in the Children’s Diversity & Justice Library is back starting this Saturday September 6 @10:30am!  Join us monthly as we share some of the very best books in our collection celebrating diversity, justice and inclusion for all friends little and big.  Mark your calendars now for each of our Saturday storytime dates - all are welcome!  Each event is held at the Children’s Diversity & Justice Library in Room H of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church at 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville TN. Join us!

Celebrating the Lights of Diversity: Holiday Storytime

We truly kindled the lights of joy this holiday season during our Celebrating the Lights of Diversity holiday stortyime.

We shared three of our favorite holiday books and lit all the lights we could find while learning about each one. We included a tiny Christmas tree, a Menorah, a Kinara, an Advent wreath, a flaming chalice, a Yule log and a Havdallah candle. All were featured in our stories. We were only missing the St. Lucia crown.

Winter Candle by Jeron Ashford in which a single candle unites a building of neighbors by being shared from tradition to tradition as needed.

An Anishinaabe Christmas by Wab Kinew in which an Anishinaabe family visits "the Rez" on the winter solstice and Baby learns all about an Anishinaabe Christmas and the weaving together of traditions on the long drive home.

The Ninth Night of Hanukkah by Erica S. Perl. Neighbors help a family who's just moved in find all they need to celebrate Hanukkah when their box of supplies hasn't arrived, and in turn, on the ninth night, a new traditional of thanks and gathering is created.

March 2024 Storytime: Music Makes Room for Everyone

Please join us at 1pm in the Children’s Diversity & Justice Library on Sunday March 24 for stories in which music takes the stage. We plan to be joined by musicians to accompany our stories and may even have the chance to make some music ourselves.

Music is found in all cultures and all people. Books featuring music and musicians can be found in all 14 of the primary dimensions of diversity around which the CDJL is organized. And music has long been joined with and used by social justice movements to share messages of resistance and hope. Come hear stories in which music is the thread that unites and calls to action across all races, religions, colors, genders, sexes, classes, ages, educational levels, levels of wealth, abilities, relationship status, famly makeup and any other dimension of diversity.

What kind of music is your favorite?

February 2024 Storytime: A Birthday for Everyone

Please join us at 1pm in the Children’s Diversity & Justice Library on Sunday February 4 for stories featuring birthdays as well as games and activities that celebrate everyone’s birthday.

Every day, all around the world, in all kinds of settings, people celebrate birthdays. Sometimes they’re able to celebrate together, sometimes they’re not. Sometimes the gathering includes chosen family, sometimes birth families, sometimes friends or community, and sometimes all of them together. All birthdays that are celebrated include cultural rituals, but they may not be the same as the ones your culture observes. Some birthdays include presents we wish for, some include presents we didn’t know we needed and all include the present of being alive!

This month, the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church that hosts the Children’s Diversity & Justice Library is celebrating its 75th birthday! A birthday that includes having witnessed many important aspects of diversity and justice in our community including being the first predominantly white church to integrate in Knoxville, TN, the first church in Knox County, Tennessee to perform a federally recognized same gender marriage, and the church of Jack LaFlore who participated in sit-ins that helped end segregation in Knoxville among many others.

Did you ever realize birthdays could be so diverse, or could celebrate events of justice?! Join us on Sunday February 4th to learn and celebrate together with A Bithday for Everyone!

January 2024 Storytime: What's New?

Please join us at the Children’s Diversity & Justice Library on Sunday January 7 at 1pm for stories of newness.

The Gregorian calendar, the calendar we in the United States, and most of the world, use begins a new year on January 1. Happy New Year!

What other kinds of newness can we discover in our CDJL collection? New ideas. New family members. New schools. New places to go or live. New feelings. New skills. New friends. New names. New jobs. New homes. New books. We have all experienced being new, or something new, at some point. Come discover newness with us, and tell us — what’s new with you?

Storytime Returns with Fall 2023 Series

We are thrilled to bring back our live storytime events with a four date fall series starting Sunday September 10!

Each month we will share at least three stories from our diversity and justice collection of over 1900 titles. Often, we will have time for activities that pair with our stories such as crafts, physical movement, service, cooking, etc.

For our kickoff event we’ll be sharing three fall favorite stories and practicing one of our favorite fall activities - voting! Attendees will have the chance to vote on the next three books to add to the CDJL collection.

September is also National Library Card Sign-Up month and we will be happy to create library cards for anyone who doesn’t have one. We look forward to seeing you there!