Learn More About Native American History & Activism
The HGSE OSA and DEI offices encourage the HGSE community to contemplate the historical roots of Thanksgiving, the Day of Mourning, and the enduring consequences of colonialism on Indigenous Peoples in the United States. While many Americans gather with loved ones on the Thanksgiving holiday to express gratitude, please remember that for many Native people "Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands and the erasure of Native cultures. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Indigenous ancestors and Native resilience. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection, as well as a protest against the racism and oppression that Indigenous people continue to experience worldwide.” Quote taken from the United American Indians of New England webpage. See more at uaine.org.
We hope you will engage with some of the resources below to learn more about Native American communities, their history, and current activism:
The History of Thanksgiving & the Day of Mourning
United American Indians of New England
The True, Dark History of Thanksgiving (Article by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation)
Why These Native Americans Observe a National Day of Mourning Each Thanksgiving (Video)
Webpages
Harvard University Native American Program
Native Reads: Great Books from Indigenous Communities
Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America
Media
All My Relations with Adrienne Keene (Ed.M.'10, Ed.D.'14) and Matika Wilbur (Podcast)
From Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day by Leah Shafer and Bari Walsh (HGSE Usable Knowledge post)
Future of Education: A New Vision for Higher Education in Indigenous Communities (HGSE Askwith Education Forum Video)
How Do You Teach about Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day? Thoughtfully, Experts Say (Podcast) with HGSE Professor Eric Soto-Shed
Supporting Mental Health in Rural and Indigenous Communities (HGSE Education Now Video)
Resources on Native American Boarding Schools
National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report
National Museum of the American Indian
Articles
Deloria, V. (1983). American Indians, American justice / by Vine Deloria, Jr. and Clifford M. Lytle. University of Texas Press.
Lomawaima, K. T. (2006). “To remain an Indian” : lessons in democracy from a century of Native American education / K. Tsianina Lomawaima, Teresa L. McCarty. Teachers College Press.
Shreve, B. (2018). Learn from the Past, Plan for the Future. Tribal College Journal, 29(3), 10–11.
Book Recommendations
Our History Is The Future by Nick Estes
An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz
Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen
A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
American Holocaust: Columbus and the Conquest of the New World by David Stannard
Which Indigenous lands are you on? Use the Native Land map as a resource to learn about Indigenous territories, languages, lands, and ways of life.