
A Painful Tradition
The Thanksgiving holiday is approaching in the United States and many families are preparing to celebrate with gratitude, food, and quality time together. But Thanksgiving also surfaces painful memories of colonization and indigenous peoples’ erasure — a threat they are still facing. Instead of defaulting to a traditional turkey dinner and stories of Europeans settling in America, we can use this holiday as an opportunity to learn true history that has been glossed over by American mythos.
A Little History
Today, Indigenous communities are a fraction of the size and strength that they were before colonization. American expansion, military aggression, and the spread of European pathogens contributed to a decade’s long genocide that is shameful and deeply unjust. Indigenous food systems were destroyed which led to starvation, devastation, and loss of cultural identity.
Today, indigenous communities are suffering from chronic diseases at disproportionate rates. Indigenous folks are twice as likely to have diabetes compared to other groups, and according to a National Health Institute Survey, 48% of indigenous people meet obesity criteria. Dietary guidelines, created by European descendants and using non-native foods, are not culturally relevant and can be inaccessible to those living on remote reservation land. 25% of Native Americans struggled with hunger before the pandemic period which is more than twice the rate of white individuals. Traditional indigenous diets were composed of unprocessed, whole, plants like corn and legumes, along with wild fish and occasional meat. Reincorporating traditional foods into diets across the nation, for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups, is an effective way to sustainably improve diets.

Why Is It Important?
Decolonizing, in regards to a healthy diet, means not only stepping away from fast and processed foods but also from Western conceptualizations of “health”. Instead of charging ahead in the name of innovation, we must connect with older generations to revive cultural knowledge and sustainable cooking techniques. Indigenous knowledge can help us identify medicinal herbs, consume food animals more efficiently and respectfully, and diversify the fruits, vegetables, and legumes, and seeds in our diet. Decolonized diets do not promote labels or division: people can choose to eat vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or omnivore while incorporating indigenous tenants.
Decolonizing echoes Michael Pollan’s call to “Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.” Plant-focused diets have been shown to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases and premature death. Specifically, legumes are a good source of soluble and insoluble fiber, and consumption is linked with lowering blood sugar and extending longevity. Moreover, the concept of decolonization encourages us to use land to grow natural foods for local communities instead of relying on long, complex supply chains. Indigenous planting, growing, and harvesting techniques ensure soil quality and maximum micronutrient capacity in foods.

What Should We Do?
This Thanksgiving, consider consulting indigenous cookbooks and blogs like American Indian Wild Foods and Recipes, Decolonize Your Diet, I Tried Eating Like Ancestors, Decolonizing the Diet and How Colonized Diets Have Made Native Nations Sick. Indigenous chefs and home cooks share valuable information about traditional culture, knowledge, and recipes to debut at your table this year.
Locate mutual aid groups in your area and share food and resources with others this holiday. Use the site native-land.ca to discover what native land you are living on, and make donations to descendants or tribal groups. Discover the original water and food sources in your community, and how colonization has shaped your food supply.
“Food sovereignty is an affirmation of who we are as indigenous peoples and a way, one of the most surefooted ways, to restore our relationship with the world around us.”
- Winona LaDuke