This Thanksgiving, I want everyone to take a moment of silence to pay respects to the innocent Native Americans who were killed due to the effects of colonialism.
We are often taught a white-washed version of Thanksgiving, one that ignores the perspective of Native Americans. An unspecific tribe of Native Americans get together with settlers, have a feast, yadda yadda yadda.
However, that isn't what really happened. Because of many white leaders back in the day trying to cover up colonialism and erase history, not many people know the true origins of Thanksgiving.
People don't know that Native Americans were killed for being on their land around the same time, by settlers. And that feast didn't mean everything was going to be okay after that.
The US government, from the very past (Christopher Columbus, who killed hundreds of thousands, maybe even more, Tano people), to the near-present (Residental schools, the last one which closed down in 1996), has been mean to Native Americans. And mean is an underestimate.
They have erased the cultures of so many tribes, some to the point where they don't even exist anymore.
However, we can offer reparations for colonialism, by donating money, food, and shelter to Native Peoples. We can also do so by signing petitions online that support Indigenous Rights.
If you're not old enough to drive, make sure to ask your parent permission before donating and signing petitions.
Here is a list of petitions you can sign, both from Canada and America:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/Tell-Canada-to-honour-the-rights-of-Indigenous-Peoples/
https://www.change.org/p/justin-trudeau-clean-water-for-indigenous-communities-drinking-from-the-great-lakes-basin
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-support-indigenous-candidates?source=twitter&
https://act.credoaction.com/sign/land_grab
And places you can donate to:
https://www.narf.org/support-us/
https://heydaybooks.com/berkeley-roundhouse/
http://newsfromnativecalifornia.com/
https://www.nicwa.org/donate-online/
https://www.niwrc.org/donate
https://nativefoodalliance.org/donate-now/
https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5855/donate_page/firstnations?track=WebFooter&_ga=2.239928193.388481437.1574566427-1131824224.1574566427
https://meskwaki.org/?page_id=152
https://friendsofpineridgereservation.org/
http://nbes.ca/
If anyone else wants to add legitimate sites that help Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, feel free to add them. |
