ALANA Thanksgiving Reflection

Published 4 years ago -


Roxann Wint – STAFF WRITER

In light of the Holiday of Thanksgiving many fail to realize that the month of November is also Native American Heritage Month. On August 3rd1990, President George H.W. Bush declared that the month of November would stand as the month of celebration.

The last two letters, NA, in our ALANA name stand for Native American.

For them, this was a time of massacre, murder and genocide for their people.

The story of Thanksgiving, which has commonly been about Pilgrims having a “peaceful dinner with Native Americans,” has actually been a sugar coated lie to the American history we share with our children and families. To be authentic and truthful to the factual experience, as a nation, we must own the history we work so hard to brush under the rug. That being said, ALANA wanted to make sure to not make Native American History Month a time of forgetfulness, but a time of honor and appreciation to the Native American people and to those who also identify as Native American.

To celebrate this month, we will be hosting our first Story Telling Event with Larry Spotted Crow Mann which occurred last Thursday, November 29th at 7 p.m. in the Testa Science Center Atrium. Our ALANA Ambassador, Kashmir Flood, will be running this event. As this is her first time running an event she is nothing but excited to see all the working parts come together.

Larry Spotted Crow Mann is a citizen of the Nipmuc Tribe of Massachusetts. He is an award winning writer, poet, cultural educator, traditional storyteller, tribal drummer /dancer and motivational speaker involving youth sobriety, cultural and environmental awareness. We will be excited to see you all there, because you know it will be lit.

Roxann Wint, a junior, studies History. She is a staff writer for Le Provocateur.

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