Thanksgiving, the holiday that gotten eaten alive.

[central scrutinizer]

22. To many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a reminder of centuries of genocide

I am not a Native American. I work for a program that helps very low income students at a public university. Because of the way financial aid is disbursed, late in fall term some of our students are facing real food insecurity. I was the coordinator in our office for a food box program. We collected food around Thanksgiving time and identified some student families who we knew were on the edge. We tried to provide a traditional Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, yams, etc. as well as some staples like peanut butter and rice that would last a while. I caught a lot of shit from a co-worker whose partner was a Native American. She felt that anything associated with Thanksgiving was hurtful and demeaning. So, instead of feeling good about helping some students I was made to feel guilty. I never was able to bridge the gap with her but went on with the food box program anyway. She has since moved on to another job and we have continued the food box program. We have five families showing up later today to collect our contributions.