3 ways to give back to Indigenous people this Thanksgiving

Activism

Nov 15

Image via Ган-Эрдэнэ Булгантамир / Pexels

I won’t lie to you, I love Thanksgiving because I love carbs and pie. What I don’t love, though, is the colonization and occupation on land that does not belong to us. Long before the story of the first Thanksgiving took place, Indigenous people lived on the land in North America, South America and Oceana utilizing its resources and cultivating a relationship with the land. White European “explorers'' settled on the land and wiped out many of these people, erasing their history and legacy with it.

To this day, Indigenous people live on the land that was originally theirs, and they still face oppression and systems of injustice. Native Americans are the racial group most likely to be killed by police, and thousands of Native women, girls and Two-Spirit people are missing or have been murdered. Suffice it to say, we owe a lot more to the people whose land we occupy than we have given over the past 500-plus years.

As we gather with family and friends or get a break from work or school, here are three ways you can give back to Indigenous communities this Thanksgiving:

National nonprofits and organizations

Whatever cause strikes a chord within you most, you can probably find a charity or organization that supports Indigenous communities on a national level.

If you are passionate about legal aid and the rights of Native Americans, you could donate to the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). If you are more passionate about ending violence against marginalized genders, there are countless coalitions to support. Of course, one of the most pressing issues for us all is climate change, so here are some places to support Indigenous environmentalist efforts.

You can truly support anything from the arts to COVID-19 Relief and more.

Land trusts, land tax and rent

Each community’s trust/tax/rent system will look different as the needs and history of communities are different. Trusts and tax funds are ways for Indigenous communities to fund the care and rematriation of the land they originally inhabited. In the same way you pay rent or property tax to reside in a home, you can make contributions to your local Indigenous communities to make reparations for the land you occupy.

While these fund options are not as easy to find as national organizations, it is possible.

You can search the general area that you live in, which is how I found Sogorea Te' Land Trust, which is a woman-led effort to rematriate the East Bay area in California.

You can also search by the name of the Indigenous people in your area (if you don’t know whose land you occupy, find out here). This is how I found the website of the Wild Turkey clan, Cedarville band of the Piscataway Indians whose traditional land is what is known as the DMV (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) and part of Pennsylvania.

Wherever you live, incorporating a donation into your living expenses for the land that was taken in order for you to live there is a great way to help the Indigenous people in your community.

Mutual aid

The best way to make a difference and support the people in your community is to give to them directly. There are a lot of Native families and Native folks in need who have Venmo and CashApp, or even have active GoFundMe pages.

One place I have found information for people who need mutual aid is through social media accounts such as @lilnativeboy. The link in their bio has a great list of funds and places to give your money to people across the country.

Wherever you choose to donate, whatever you decide to give, remember what this day means to countless Indigenous people and their allies. We can’t erase history or take back the atrocities our ancestors committed, but we can act in the interest of justice now and take care of one another.