Thursday, November 28, 2024

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Today is the Thanksgiving holiday, which means many things to many people across the U.S.

For years, the event was portrayed as a cheerful feast between Pilgrims and Native Americans. But critics say this whitewashes the conflict and animosity that has marked the centuries since the Mayflower’s arrival at Plymouth Rock, and some Native people boycott the holiday.

Others use it to gather relatives and friends, to celebrate the resilience of Native Americans despite war, disease, and colonization.

However you celebrate Thanksgiving – or, alternately, Turkey Day – we at National Native News are grateful for your listenership and support.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage is known for its exhibits and cultural programs.

But as Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA tells us, the center’s Indigenous awareness programs are growing in popularity, especially during Native American Heritage month.

Almost 700 students filled the auditorium at East Anchorage High School this month to learn about Alaska’s many different Native cultures and their values.

The team from the Alaska Native Heritage Center had a warm reception from students for two separate programs this month.

“We do a lot of amazing stuff. It fills my cup.”

Chris Delgado manages the Heritage Center’s cultural awareness programs and says they can be customized to meet the needs of a wide variety of organizations.

“We have National Park Service. We’re working with the FBI. We are working with the United States Air Force.”

Maureen Cronin, an academics coach at East High, is not surprised that companies want to invest in programs that raise their employees’ cultural awareness.

She says cultural literacy is important everywhere, but especially at East, which has students from fifty different cultures and is one of the most diverse schools in the nation.

“It’s really important to demystify cultural generalities, and it’s important to develop cultural understanding.”

And cultural appreciation for what the Heritage Center calls the genius of Indigenous culture, or “Indigi-nuity”.

“That’s how we survived out in the Arctic, back in the day.”

Colton Paul, a six-time gold medalist at the Arctic Winter Games who demonstrates traditional Alaska Native games at the workshops, says the athletes and their feats of strength and endurance epitomize “Indigi-nuity.”

“They can jump so high. They can kick way above their heads. I remember when I was a little kid, I would see these other kids kicking way above their heads, I would think, ‘That is right above the stars. That’s so high.’”

The cultural awareness trainers at the Heritage Center say they’ve noticed that when people gather to learn about another culture, they also learn to build better relationships with each other.

Regrowth and renewal were the themes of a special replanting ceremony in Blue River, Oreg. this month.

The event was also to highlight the history of Native Americans in the McKenzie River Corridor.

About 30 people gathered to accept white oak seedlings that were blessed and sprinkled with tobacco.

Dietrich Peters of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde coordinated the event.

“Come on up, we’ll get you some tobacco, and you can offer your prayers as well.”

Katherine Wilson of the group McKenzie Reel said while much of this was to help restore Blue River’s landscape after the devastating Holiday Farm Fire of 2020, it was also to highlight the activity of Native people who crossed through before colonization.

She said there was one clear takeaway from the event by those present.

“Well, by the sounds of the sobs, the healing. The river and the land just seemed to be so joyous. It was healing, and I didn’t expect that.”

Attendees took oak tree seedlings to plant across the region. Wilson says she’ll hold similar events soon, to complement Blue River’s natural rejuvenation as it keeps building homes and facilities.

 

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