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Native Americans mourn on Thanksgiving: 'No reason to celebrate' - Fox News
Nov 25, 2021 1 min, 59 secs

Members of Native American tribes from around New England are gathering in the seaside town where the Pilgrims settled — not to give thanks, but to mourn Indigenous people worldwide who’ve suffered centuries of racism and mistreatment.

"We Native people have no reason to celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims," said Kisha James, a member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag and Oglala Lakota tribes and the granddaughter of Wamsutta Frank James, the event’s founder.

Supporters of Native Americans pause following a prayer during the 38th National Day of Mourning at Coles Hill in Plymouth, Mass., on Nov.

Denouncing centuries of racism and mistreatment of Indigenous people, members of Native American tribes from around New England will gather on Thanksgiving 2021 for a solemn National Day of Mourning observance.

It’s the 52nd year that the United American Indians of New England have organized the event on Thanksgiving Day.

The story comes as multiple colleges' student and alumni groups across the country encouraged students to treat Thanksgiving as a day of remembrance for Native Americans, with the George Washington University Student Association sending an email to students Monday stating that "Thanksgiving day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people.".

"Although we recognize the importance of giving thanks and spending time with family and friends, we must also recognize that Thanksgiving for many in our community is a day of mourning," the email stated.

Joining the students from George Washington University were the alumni associations of the University of Maryland, Florida Gulf Coast University, Washington State University, Hiram College in Ohio and California State University, Long Beach, who participated in an events asking whether Americans should "reconsider" the Thanksgiving holiday.

"Starting in 1970, many Americans, led by Indigenous protesters, believed that Thanksgiving should be rededicated as a National Day of Mourning to reflect the centuries-long displacement and persecution of Native Americans.

The recent shift from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day reflects a changing national mood," the event description states.

"Should Americans reconsider Thanksgiving when wrestling with our country’s complicated past?".

 Marchers carry a large painting of jailed American Indian Leonard Peltier during a march for the National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Mass., on Nov.

Denouncing centuries of racism and mistreatment of Indigenous people, members of Native American tribes from around New England will gather on Thanksgiving 2021 for a solemn National Day of Mourning observance.

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