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Thanksgiving is almost upon us, a time when many Americans gather together to eat turkey and talk about what they’re most thankful for. Growing up in the United States, almost everyone can recall the “First Thanksgiving” story they were told in elementary school: how the local Wampanoag Native Americans sat down with the pilgrims of Plymouth Colony in 1621, in what is now present-day Massachusetts, for a celebratory feast. However, this story is far from the truth - which is why many people opt out of celebrating the controversial holiday. For many Indigenous communities throughout the US, Thanksgiving remains a national day of mourning - a reminder of the devastating genocide and displacement that occurred at the hands of European colonisers following their arrival in the Americas. Every year since 1970, Indigenous people and their allies have even gathered near Plymouth Rock to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the day of Thanksgiving. “Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the erasure of Native cultures,” states the official website for the United American Indians of New England. “Participants in National Day of Mourning honour Indigenous ancestors and Native resilience. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection, as well as a protest against the racism and oppression that Indigenous people continue to experience worldwide.” This year, the 54th annual National Day of Mourning takes place on 23 November - the same day as Thanksgiving. While not everyone can support the event in person, there are still many ways people can raise awareness toward issues affecting Indigenous communities from wherever they are - by “decolonising” their Thanksgiving dinner. Decolonisation can be defined as the active resistance against settler colonialism and a shifting of power towards Indigenous sovereignty. Of course, it’s difficult to define decolonisation without putting it into practice, writes Eve Tuck and K Wayne Yang in their essay, Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor. Rather, one of the most radical and necessary moves toward decolonisation requires imagining and enacting a future for Indigenous peoples - a future based on terms of their own making. Matt Hooley is an assistant professor in the department of Native American and Indigenous Studies at Dartmouth College, where he teaches about US colonial powers and Indigenous cultural production. “Decolonisation is a beautiful and difficult political horizon that should guide our actions everyday, including during holidays like Thanksgiving,” he tells The Independent. “Of course, Thanksgiving is a particularly relevant holiday to think about decolonisation because the way many people celebrate it involves connecting ‘the family’ to a colonial myth in which colonialism is inaccurately imagined as a peaceful event in the past.” By decolonising our Thanksgiving, we can celebrate the holiday with new traditions that honour a future in which Indigenous people are celebrated. This year, we can start by understanding the real history behind Thanksgiving as told by actual Indigenous communities. While Americans mainly dedicate one day a year to give thanks, Indigenous communities express gratitude every day with the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address - often called: “The words that come before all else.” The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address is the central prayer and invocation for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which comprises the Six Nations - Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. When one recites the Thanksgiving Address, they’re giving thanks for all life and the natural world around them. According to Hooley, one of the most straightforward actions people can take to decolonise their Thanksgiving includes supporting Indigenous land acknowledgments and land back movements. Land back is an ongoing Indigenous-led movement which seeks to return ancestral lands to Indigenous people and the recognition of Indigenous sovereignty. While the movement is nowhere near new, it received international attention in 2016 during protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline - which continues to disrupt land and water sources belonging to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. This year, sit down with family and friends to discuss an action plan and highlight the concrete steps you plan on taking to support Indigenous communities. “Another, even simpler way would be to begin participating in what’s called a ‘Voluntary Land Tax,’ whereby non-Indigenous people contribute a recurring tax to the tribal communities whose land you occupy,” said Hooley. Food is perhaps the most important part of the Thanksgiving holiday, with turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes taking center stage. However, there are many ways we can make sure our dinner tables honour Indigenous futurisms too. Donald A Grinde, Jr is a professor emeritus in the department of Africana and American Studies at the University at Buffalo. Grinde - who is a member of the Yamassee Nation - tells The Independent that crops such as corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, and potatoes are central to Indigenous history and future. “A good thing is to be thankful for the abundance in the fall and note that Native people created over 60 per cent of modern agricultural crops,” he said. “People can be thankful for the crops that Native people created, medicines created, and traditions about democracy, women’s rights and environmental rights.” Rather than buying food from major corporations this year, Hooly also recommended people consciously source their Thanksgiving dinner from Indigenous producers. “Industrial agriculture is one of the most devastating contributors to the destruction of land and water everywhere, including on Indigenous land,” he said. “Instead of buying food grown or made by colonial corporations, people could buy their food from Indigenous producers, or even simply make a greater effort to buy locally grown food or not to buy meat harvested from industrial farms.” Thanksgiving is just a day away. While it’s important that we’re actively working toward highlighting Indigenous communities on this special holiday, decolonisation efforts are something that should be done year-round. “People can also learn about political priorities of the Indigenous communities near them and support those priorities by speaking to their representatives, participating in a protest, or by making sure that their local school and library boards are including Indigenous texts in local community education,” Hooley said. Read More I made an air fryer Thanksgiving dinner so you don’t have to From turkey sandwiches to casseroles: What to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers Slandering mayonnaise doesn’t make you a foodie – it makes you boring I made an air fryer Thanksgiving dinner so you don’t have to From turkey sandwiches to casseroles: What to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers Slandering mayonnaise doesn’t make you a foodie – it makes you boring

Dutch far-right populist Geert Wilders, who has vowed to stop all immigration to the Netherlands, was heading for a landslide victory in parliamentary elections on Wednesday, in one of the biggest political upsets in Dutch politics since the second world war. A win by Mr Wilders, sometimes dubbed the Dutch Donald Trump and who has previously urged his country to leave the EU, would send shockwaves through Europe. The result puts the anti-Islam politician in line to lead talks to form a new ruling coalition and possibly become the country’s prime minister at a time of political upheaval through much of Europe. As voting closed, the Ipsos poll put his Freedom party (PVV) at 35 out of 150 seats, nine seats ahead of the closest rival, Frans Timmermans’ Labour/Green Left combination, and more than double the 17 seats he won at the last election. The party of outgoing prime minister Mark Rutte, the conservative VVD, was in third place at 23 seats, the exit poll showed. Political parties from the left to the far-right PVV are competing to secure a leading position in the Dutch parliament. Immigration – the issue that triggered the collapse of Mr Rutte’s cabinet after 13 years in power – has been a key issue in the campaign. Mr Rutte was the country’s longest-serving prime minister, but has faced a decline in his popularity. Mr Wilders’ election programme calls for a referendum on the Netherlands leaving the European Union, a total halt to accepting asylum-seekers and migrant pushbacks at the Dutch borders. The populist with dyed blonde hair said in a television debate during the election campaign: “It’s been enough now. The Netherlands can’t take it any more. We have to think about our own people first now. Borders closed. Zero asylum seekers.” A self-proclaimed fan of Hungary’s far-right Victor Orban, Mr Wilders is also explicitly anti-EU, urging the Netherlands to significantly reduce its payments to the bloc, and to stop the entry of any new members. He has also repeatedly said the country should stop providing arms to Ukraine, saying it needs the weapons to be able to defend itself. However, none of the parties he could potentially form a government with shares these ideas. In 2016, he said he wanted to ban all Islamic symbols, mosques and the Quran, although in this election campaign he has been seeking to soften his image in the hope of entering government, which some voters said they liked. He said recently that opposing Islam remained at his party’s core but concerns over the cost of living, improving care for the elderly and limiting immigration were what he focused on now. His enduring popularity since he created PVV in 2006 has pushed ruling parties over the years to give the Netherlands one of Europe’s toughest immigration policies. Abroad, his comments about the prophet Mohammed and calls for the Quran to be banned led to sometimes violent protests in countries including Pakistan, Indonesia and Egypt. He was convicted of discrimination after insulting Moroccans at a campaign rally in 2014. Death threats against him mean he has lived under heavy police protection for years. Read More The top contenders to lead the Netherlands, from a former refugee to an anti-Islam populist An election to replace the longest-serving leader of the Netherlands gives voters a clean slate Netherlands election: Polls open in neck-and-neck race to decide next Dutch leader Dutch political leaders campaign on final day before general election that will usher in new leader Potential kingmaker in Dutch coalition talks comes out against anti-Islam firebrand Wilders Dutch election candidates make migration a key campaign issue in the crowded Netherlands

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