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Showing posts from November, 2018

Infusing American Indian representation into my Indian-American Thanksgiving

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I always look forward to Thanksgiving. It’s one of the few times in the entire year that my massive Indian family gets together to share space, food, and laughter.  At one point in my immigrant family history, celebrating Thanksgiving felt foreign and novel but it has now become a normative part of our family traditions. As my family continues to assimilate deeper into the U.S. American culture, we have embraced more of an “American” Thanksgiving. We have gone from having mostly Indian food on the dinner table to mastering the traditional Thanksgiving dishes (hello sweet potato casserole!), we gather around the table to pray over the food, state what we are thankful for, and feast together while watching football. Because this holiday is all about giving thanks, we often take turns verbalizing what we are grateful for. Many of the older members of my family reflect on the gratitude they have for the opportunities and privileges that their U.S. citizenship has provided them. Thes