"Thanksgiving day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the relentless assault on Native culture," says the United American Indians of New England. They've marked the occasion as a day of mourning for 48 years, according to Native Hope.

Americans model their holiday on a 1621 harvest feast shared between the Wampanoag people and the English colonists known as Pilgrims. Canadians trace their earliest thanksgiving celebration to 1578, when an expedition led by Martin Frobisher gave thanks for its safe passage.

Historical Context: Many Native Americans view Thanksgiving as a reminder of the painful history of colonization, which included violence, displacement, and the loss of land and culture. The narrative of Thanksgiving often overlooks the suffering and resilience of Indigenous peoples.

For many in the Indigenous community, the annual holiday actually serves as a harmful reminder of how their land was stolen from them during colonization, how many of their people were killed, and how their culture was almost entirely stripped from them.