Last week, the University at Buffalo in New York held a “Decolonizing Thanksgiving'' event that questioned “the right thing to celebrate Thanksgiving'' and America's “history of settler colonialism.''
The event that was hosted The talk, presented by the university's Intercultural Diversity Center (IDC) on November 21, was part of a segment called “Tough Topics.” The Tough Topics event is described as a “weekly open forum” to discuss national, global, and current events.
“Is it right to celebrate Thanksgiving and America’s history of settler colonialism?” the event description read. “What can we do to celebrate this day of remembrance for Indigenous communities? We can redefine the meaning of Thanksgiving and honor Indigenous history.”
This is not the first time the university's IDC has hosted an event criticizing Thanksgiving. In 2021, IDC held an event titled “The True History of Thanksgiving,” in which the holiday was “whitewashed.” discussed According to Campus Reform, Americans' “alternatives” to Thanksgiving.
Other universities, including the University of Michigan and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, have held similar events to discuss decolonizing Thanksgiving.
A 2021 press release from the University of Michigan Center for Social Solutions states that Thanksgiving: explained The day is a “national day of mourning” for many Native Americans and a “remembrance” of the “genocide and decades of suffering” they endured since the arrival of Europeans.
The press release offered ways for people to “decolonize” their Thanksgiving celebrations, including learning “the real story behind Thanksgiving,” and ways for people to “support the land return movement.” .
Recently, the University of Washington provided The “Decolonization Thanksgiving'' event was hosted by the university's International Student Exchange and Cross-Cultural Exchange Office. Students were encouraged to attend the event to learn about the “origins of the holiday” and the “impact of colonization on Native American communities.”
Breitbart News reached out to the University at Buffalo's Center for Intercultural Diversity for a statement, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
