“I’ve been considering the phrase ‘all my relations’ for some time now. It’s hugely important. It’s our saving grace in the end. It points to the truth that we are related, we are all connected, we all belong to each other. The most important word is all. Not just those who look like me, sing like me, dance like me, speak like me, pray like me or behave like me. ALL my relations. It means every person just as it means every blade of grass, rock, mineral and creature. We live because everything else does. If we were to collectively choose to live that teaching, the energy of that change of consciousness would heal all of us – and heal the planet. We do it one person, one heart at a time…we are connected, we are the answer.” –Richard Wagamese, Ojibwe author
It’s November, and that means the start of the holiday season. At Athena Montessori, we look forward to celebrating our bounty with family and friends. We host our annual Cultural Fest, a community potluck where we are all welcome and encouraged to bring a dish that speaks to our roots, our heritage, our culture. Later in the month we take a week off to welcome loved ones into our homes, or to travel. We gather to break bread, to raise a toast, to make memories, to share hugs and laughter. We give thanks. Thursday, November 23, is set aside as Thanksgiving Day. For a community practicing antiracism and striving to be grounded in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, the history of Thanksgiving is problematic. For many people native to this land, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning. For many people whose forebears came to this land from Europe, “The First Thanksgiving” is a lie we were trained to believe as children, and believe we did. Until we didn’t. But what do we do with the truth now that we know it? Do we eschew the holiday altogether? Do we celebrate and gather, but teach the children of today nothing about the history of the holiday, just gloss over it because we are deeply uncomfortable?
We would like to share with you all, our community, one Indigenous perspective from Sean Sherman, known as “the Sioux Chef,” who is probably the most high-profile advocate for Native foodways in the United States. His Minneapolis restaurant, Owamni, which showcases modern Indigenous foods, won a 2022 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. More recently, he made Time magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential People and was named the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Julia Child Award. This summer, he launched the Indigenous Food Lab, a “professional Indigenous kitchen and training center” with an ambitious goal — establishing a new Indigenous food system that supports tribally operated kitchens across North America. Chef Sean wrote the following article for TIME magazine, and it was originally published on November 19, 2018.
Please click to read the article below.
