Update from Stacey

Thank you to everyone who participated in October Community Fund Drive events. Whether you donated independently or attended one of the fund drive events for OUE-ASR, I appreciate your contributions. A special shout out to those who took on leadership roles for the Community Fund Drive: Jessica Franck, Jessica Kuecker Grotjohn, Dani Rustad, and Megan Wollner. Thank you!

With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, this will be the only News & Notes issue this month. I hope you enjoy time away from work on November 28 and 29!

Rethinking Traditional Thanksgiving Celebrations

Thanksgiving is a much-celebrated holiday in the United States. Imagery of the “first Thanksgiving” portrays a lighthearted meal and celebration of the fall harvest. In fact, this friendly moment between Pilgrims and Native tribes is a myth, and the story has perpetuated a false narrative of acceptance and inclusion. This is historically inaccurate and whitewashes Indigenous experience.

As you prepare your Thanksgiving meal and plan family activities, try to incorporate some historically-accurate texts from the Native experience. Here are a few family-friendly resources to get you started:

• Watch this Rethinking Thanksgiving webinar via Showing up for Racial Justice
• Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp (Lee & Low Books, 1997)
• The “First Thanksgiving: How can we tell a better story?” from the National Museum of the American Indian
• Greet the Dawn the Lakota Way by S.D. Nelson (South Dakota Historical Society Press, 2012)
• Let's Go! A Harvest Story by Hannah Lindoff (Sealaska Heritage Institute, 2017)
• Mary's Wild Winter Feast by Hannah Lindoff (University of Alaska Press, 2014)