"Thanksgiving is coming up tomorrow, and we at OUA [One Up Action] wanted to emphasize something important this holiday season.
The majority of this holiday - from the food, the narratives, the stories that we are told and may pass around - are whitewashed and are centered around concealing the horrific events of North American colonization. That doesn't mean it's immoral to celebrate the holiday, but we must focus on what we're celebrating and how we're doing it. As many of us are immigrants in the Americas, we must respect the land that we are living on and help the people who have lived on this land since time immemorial.
This Thanksgiving, donate to local Native communities and reservation funds. Donate to national or international organizations focused on uplifting the issues of Indigenous people, and uplift those issues and Indigenous voices as well.
Especially in the climate movement, we must learn to listen and follow Indigenous activists who know much more about the land and its history than we will through secondary research. We must learn to act alongside them, support local campaigns, and make sure that we aren't drowning out their ideas and platforms.
This holiday season should be about more than just White holidays - it should be about community, about the true purpose of giving, and about gratitude to the people around us and who have helped us.
Action starts now."