Celebrate Thanksgiving in a Culturally Appropriate Way!

Happy Thanksgiving to our readers at Humanity In Health! We are so thankful for each and every one of you for taking the time to learn more about cultural competency as a future healthcare professional and working towards eliminating disparities! 

Over the years Thanksgiving has become a great way to get together with families and enjoy meals while taking the time to be grateful for each aspect of our lives. However, we must always keep the history behind this holiday in the back of our minds and remember the many Native Americans who were forced to give up their lands to colonizers. Thus, we must make every effort to celebrate this classical holiday in a culturally appropriate way.

First, we can recognize other typical thanksgiving traditions that happen elsewhere. “How to celebrate Thanksgiving in a Culturally Appropriate Way” mentions many other Thanksgiving celebrations such as the British Harvest Festival, a Jewish harvest festival Sukkot, Christian harvest from Germany, and the Japanese holiday for Labor Thanksgiving Day which originates from the Shinto harvest ceremony (Source). By celebrating other cultures and traditions, we can stray from the insensitivity of American Thanksgiving’s history and expand our celebrations.

Next, we must also learn about the start of American Thanksgiving that began when British settlers came to America. With the help of the Native Americans, the settlers were able to successfully produce a harvest that could feed themselves. To celebrate their achievement, the settlers threw a large feast and invited many of the Native American allies. Although this story seems like a joyous celebration, in reality, there was and still is a long history of injustice towards the Native Americans who first inhabited America (Source).

Finally, we can listen to the Native American voices of our country. The Wampanoag People were the first to assist the Pilgrims when they arrived from Europe. Their generosity was truly taken advantage of and its reality has been largely skewed. But, we can all listen to the cultural context and implications of Thanksgiving in an interview with Cedric Cromwell, the Tribal Council Chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Nation. (Source).

By: Sreenidhi Saripalli