Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick said he spent his Thanksgiving celebrating "Unthanksgiving Day," which seeks to bring attention to the federal government's treatment of Native Americans.

"Spent the morning at the Indigenous People’s Sunrise Ceremony on the 50 year anniversary of the Occupation of Alcatraz," Kaepernick said Thursday on Twitter. "The US government has stolen over 1.5 billion acres of land from Indigenous people. Thank you to my Indigenous family, I’m with you today and always."



Spent the morning at the Indigenous People’s Sunrise Ceremony on the 50 year anniversary of the Occupation of Alcatraz. The US government has stolen over 1.5 billion acres of land from Indigenous people. Thank you to my Indigenous family, I’m with you today and always.✊🏽 pic.twitter.com/6cTuktUlQN — Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) November 28, 2019



Native American activists host "Unthanksgiving Day" on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. "In this political climate, coming here is my way of honoring those who have sacrificed so much so we can have our rights recognized locally and globally," Daisee Francour, a member of the Oneida Nation, said about this year's event.

"This is a colonialist and capitalist holiday," Kanyon Sayers-Roods, a member of the Mutsun Ohlone, said of Thanksgiving. Sayer-Roods is a frequent attendee of Unthanksgiving, although she skipped the event this year. She said Thanksgiving, despite its "colonialist" roots, "can still be a time to share space with family and the land."

Kaepernick, 32, has been out the NFL for three years, but recently held tryouts for several NFL teams. He has been an outspoken activist and led anthem-kneeling protests in support of social justice when he was in the league.