It is ironic that the Great Plains Action Society’s invitation to us to help renovate the house for the Healing Justice House in Iowa City is occurring just after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Truthsgiving is the moral inventory and call for integrity that compels the Quaker community to adopt the NewCO concept as the required spiritual work of making direct amends
Truthsgiving is an example of the NewCO concept because it demands the systemic non-collaboration and material repair that define the NewCO mandate.
The NewCO framework shifts the historical Quaker practice of Conscientious Objection from a narrow refusal of military service to a comprehensive rejection of the entire violent colonial system. Truthsgiving provides the moral and historical justification for this shift:
- Diagnosing Systemic Violence: Truthsgiving explicitly targets the Christian Colonial Capitalist Violence (CCV) and white supremacy perpetuated by the Thanksgiving mythology. This mirrors the NewCO’s foundational diagnosis that CCV is “contrary to the Spirit” and must be resisted holistically.
- Translating Faith into Action: Truthsgiving emphasizes that “it matters little what people say they believe when their actions are inconsistent with their words”. This perfectly aligns with the NewCO’s goal of moving from passive belief to a “positive witness” where actions must “match your words”. The work is about allowing your “life itself be the proof of the different world you’re trying to build”.
In essence, Truthsgiving is the moral inventory and call for integrity that compels the Quaker community to adopt the NewCO praxis as the required spiritual work of making direct amends
It’s past time to honor the Indigenous resistance, tell our story as it really happened, and undo romanticized notions of the holiday that have long suppressed our perspective. As an Indigenous decolonizer, I call this time of year the Season of Resistance. With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I ask you to please take the time to educate your peers about Thanksgiving’s real history; to support Native people as they resist the narrative of the holiday; and to organize or host
alternatives to this holiday.
An essential part of decolonizing Thanksgiving is to start educating our children with the authentic history of this country. A book that reexamines basic “truths” about Thanksgiving in an educational context is Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years. Considering that much of the Thanksgiving mythology is based on sharing food, it is ideal to discuss the importance of Indigenous first foods or food sovereignty with our children as well. The book Four Seasons of Corn: A Winnebago Tradition discusses the traditional process of growing and harvesting corn, de-commercializing what we eat, and promoting culturally appropriate foods and agricultural systems of North America. Decolonizing Thanksgiving: A Toolkit for Combatting Racism in Schools is a quick read where more resources are listed; it even has sample letters that can be sent to your children’s school concerning problematic Thanksgiving activities.
Thanksgiving Promotes Whitewashed History–So I Organized Truthsgiving Instead by Sikowis, Plains-Cree/Saulteaux, George Gordon First Nation, Great Plains Action Society
Originally published on Bustle.com on November 16, 201
Truthsgiving must be enacted through truth telling and mutual aid to discourage colonized ideas about the thanksgiving mythology Mutual Aid as an organizational strategy is as old as humanity.
Historically, before capitalism destroyed much of what made us thrive, the way we existed was only possible through cooperation and thinking of the “whole”. It was not possible to act in the American cliche of the “rugged individualist” because each of us was needed for our skills to look after and advance our communities.
In this modern world, where the basic resources for survival are commodified and held captive, Mutual Aid is now not only a survival tactic to the marginalized, it is also a revolutionary act.
Truthsgiving and Mutual Aid revolution by Ronnie James, Indigenous Organizer
Des Moines Mutual Aid and Great Plains Action Society
Links about Truthsgiving from the Great Plains Action Society
Truthsgiving Webinar: Great Plains Action Society
Truthsgiving: Why we Must Abolish Colonial Holidays that Perpetuate Dangerous Stereotypes and Whitewashed History
Thanksgiving Promotes Whitewashed History, So I Organized Truthsgiving Instead
What Does Thanksgiving Mean to Native Americans?
The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I’ve Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday.
A Thanksgiving Message From Seven Amazing Native Americans
The Future is Indigenous: Decolonizing Thanksgiving
For Me, Thanksgiving Is a ‘Day of Mourning’
How to Decolonize Your Thanksgiving Dinner
A Native American Chef Grapples with Thanksgiving and Tries to Create an Authentic Tasting Menu
Enough Thanksgiving Myths. Schools Should Teach Indigenous History
