Reclaiming Thanksgiving: Honoring Resilience, Reciprocity, and Healing
As we approach this U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, it's time to learn the true history behind this holiday. Thanksgiving is often presented through a settler narrative that erases the colonial violence, genocide, dispossession, and oppression of Indigenous Peoples. However, it’s also a time of year that holds deeper meaning for Native relatives. Beyond the settler myths taught in school lies everyone's responsibility to unlearn the revisionist stories that continue to be perpetuated and relearn, heal, and reconnect with the values of resilience, reciprocity, and respect for all living things.
For countless generations, many northern hemisphere Indigenous Peoples have honored this season as a time of honoring our ancestors, giving thanks for the fall harvest and preparing for the colder months. Long before colonization, our communities gathered to celebrate the gifts of the earth and prepare for winter. This practice of giving thanks aligns with an Indigenous understanding of reciprocity—a concept rooted in our ways of knowing, where each action recognizes the gifts shared between all our relatives—human and not human—and fosters balance within the world. Through reciprocity, we recognize that all beings—human, plant, animal, water, and land—are interdependent and interconnected.
Acknowledging History for True Reconciliation
Reclaiming Thanksgiving requires all people and civil society to acknowledge and honor the truths of colonial history. For true reconciliation, we must face the pain and loss of our ancestors, whose lands and ways of life were stolen. Honoring Indigenous resilience is a powerful way to stand in truth, resisting the erasure of Indigenous histories. Only by recognizing this history can we begin to understand why Thanksgiving is referred to as a Day of Mourning for many Indigenous People, creating space for collective healing, and bringing greater awareness to the experiences and wisdom Indigenous peoples bring to the present and our future.
Embracing Reciprocity and Shifting Paradigms
Reciprocity is a powerful force for change. When we give back to communities, ecosystems, and the planet in ways that honor and promote Indigenous Knowledge, we foster mutual respect and repair relationships with the earth. Health In Harmony embodies this principle by actively listening to and honoring local wisdom. As such, we are challenging colonial paradigms and creating real, lasting impact by centering Indigenous-led and local solutions.
When centering reciprocity, Thanksgiving can inspire us to look beyond consumption and towards acts of giving that build good relations. Health In Harmony’s work in rainforests brings this principle to life, supporting Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afrodescendant Peoples in leading the stewardship of their land for climate resilience, biodiversity, health, and healing. In doing so, we support community-led conservation and intersectional solutions from sustainable livelihood and food security to access to quality healthcare and traditional medicine to education and Indigenous- and place-based economies.
Supporting Health In Harmony: A Call to Action
As we reflect on the true history of Thanksgiving, we invite you to support Health In Harmony’s mission. Your support not only uplifts Indigenous Knowledge, sovereignty, and stewardship but also contributes to climate action that benefits all people and the planet. Thus, we invite you to give in a way that promotes ecosystem balance, promotes Indigenous sovereignty, and honors the earth that sustains us all.
Together, we can foster a world where being in good relations is at the heart of every action. Thank you for supporting Health In Harmony.