{"id":18036,"date":"2021-11-15T09:15:54","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T14:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=18036"},"modified":"2021-11-15T09:15:54","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T14:15:54","slug":"tim-giago-thoughts-on-thanksgiving-and-native-american-heritage-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/11\/15\/tim-giago-thoughts-on-thanksgiving-and-native-american-heritage-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Tim Giago: Thoughts on Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Tim<\/a>
Tim Giago. Photo courtesy Native Sun News Today<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Notes from Indian Country<\/div>\r\n
Thoughts on Thanksgiving<\/div>\r\n
Monday, November 15, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji \u2013 Stand Up For Them)<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n Sean Sherman, founder and CEO of The Sioux Chef<\/a> and the author of The Sioux Chef\u2019s Indigenous Kitchen, may have complicated and painful feelings about the Thanksgiving, but is offering up new ways to observe it.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n Sherman, who hails from the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said the following in a piece for Time Magazine<\/a>, which you should absolutely read in full:\r\n

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\r\n“The thing is, we do not need the poisonous ‘pilgrims and Indians’ narrative. We do not need that illusion of past unity to actually unite people today. Instead, we can focus simply on values that apply to everybody: togetherness, generosity and gratitude. And we can make the day about what everybody wants to talk and think about anyway: the food.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nPeople may not realize it, but what every person in this country shares, and the very history of this nation, has been in front of us the whole time. Most of our Thanksgiving recipes are made with indigenous foods: turkey, corn, beans, pumpkins, maple, wild rice and the like. We should embrace this.”\r\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\n Deanna Kalian, a recent graduate from Mount Holyoke College had this to say about Native American Heritage Month<\/a>. Writing in Mount Holyoke News, an independent student newspaper:\r\n

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\r\nNovember is also Native American Heritage Month, a time to recognize the talents of the many Native Americans who have contributed to American culture. Here are five Native American writers you should know: \r\n

<\/p>\r\nLouise Erdrich<\/a>, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, has written 15 novels and has also published volumes of poetry, children\u2019s books, short stories and a memoir. Her novels have received numerous awards; her first, \u201cLove Medicine,\u201d won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Another book, \u201cThe Plague of Doves,\u201d was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. \r\n

<\/p>\r\nTommy Orange<\/a>, a member of the Arapaho and Cheyenne Nations, is the author of the novel \u201cThere There,\u201d released in 2018. The debut work, which won the Center for Fiction\u2019s First Novel Prize and was a New York Times bestseller, takes readers to the \u201cBig Oakland Powwow.\u201d There, Orange introduces readers to 12 characters, whose lives and brilliant personalities intersect with devastating results. \u201cThere There\u201d was Mount Holyoke\u2019s 2019 Common Read. \r\n

<\/p>\r\nJoy Harjo<\/a>, a member of the Muscogee Nation, was named the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States in 2019, becoming the first Native American recipient. Although primarily known for her poetry, Harjo has published memoirs, children\u2019s books, screenplays and even musical compositions. One of her poetry collections, \u201cIn Mad Love and War,\u201d won the American Book Award and the William Carlos Williams Award.\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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