daily practice

November was designated as Native American Heritage Month in 1990, by President George HW Bush. Since then, have you ever set aside time in November to learn more of the true stories of Native Americans? Of the relations between Native Americans and colonialist settlers which many historians and others refer to as genocide? The story of what we call Thanksgiving Day includes much more violence and bloodshed than what most of us learned in elementary school. And if you are White, have you learned anything about the varied perspectives of Black Americans on this holiday – including that Blacks and Native Americans were excluded from it? From our UU’s for Justice newsletter in 2022: “We do not need the false “pilgrims and Indians” narrative, that illusion of past unity, to actually unite people. Instead, we can focus simply on values that apply to everybody: togetherness, generosity, and gratitude. (From Sean Sherman, founder and CEO of The Sioux Chef and the author of The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen.) For daily practice, while it’s still November, may we help ourselves to learn more, and focus on how we can add to togetherness, generosity and gratitude.