Let’s take a pause from the turkey and stuffing. To many Native people, reckoning with Thanksgiving can be difficult—for obvious reasons. This is partially why the I-Collective, an organization of indigenous chefs and activists across the country, was born. The group hosts Thanksgiving dinners with a decidedly different narrative, celebrating the resilience of their people and telling their stories through food. We asked three I-Collective members to tell us about their own relationship to Thanksgiving and how they spend the day.

Hillel Echo-Hawk

“I know now that Thanksgiving wasn’t a nice party with pilgrims on one side and Natives on the other.”

I grew up with a really big family in a very small town in Alaska. My mom is Irish and my dad is Pawnee. We always had Thanksgiving at our evangelical church. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie. People would dress up as Indians and pilgrims. It was weird.

As a kid I wanted to be the pilgrim. Indians didn’t have the good story. They were the supporting characters, not the stars. They were scary. It never occurred to me that there could be another way. Six years ago I read an article online about the real history of Thanksgiving, including one in 1637 that marked one of the first massacres of indigenous people on this continent. I felt sad and frustrated. How could no one have told me? I called my mom, and she had no answers. We have never talked about it since.

My parents are divorced now, and my dad still puts religion above his Native identity. My mom celebrates Thanksgiving in Alaska, and she wants the American standards. But I see it as a time to hang out with my siblings. We make carnitas with refried beans, sweet potato pie with fried sage, and soba. We honor not just my Native culture, but the Mexican and Japanese heritages of my brothers-in-law.

Now I have a small catering company, Birch Basket, in Seattle. My clients are mostly Native. I use my traditional foods—nettles, sunflowers, wild Alaskan cranberries, maple syrup, wild rice from the Great Lakes tribes—in everything I do. Indigenous people have been eating these foods and using them in ceremonies and as medicine for a long time. They were growing on this land before we got here. They are a part of me. I know now that Thanksgiving wasn’t a nice party with pilgrims on one side and Natives on the other. But to me it’s a day to celebrate our resilience and lift each other up. –Hillel Echo-Hawk, Pawnee and Athabaskan, Seattle Owner of Birch Basket.