A STATEMENT ON THANKSGIVING:

We intend this annual holiday celebration to be one of gratitude, family, and friendship. It is meant as an inclusive event where anyone may come together to enjoy good food, be thankful, and revel in the wintery mountain atmosphere of Lake Tahoe. With that said, we find it important to recognize that the history of Thanksgiving has not always been truthful or fair to the indigenous tribes of North America. While we encourage you to frame your thinking of Thanksgiving as a celebration of gratitude rather than as a recreation of the “historic” event, we hope you might also take the time to learn more about the history of this holiday. We have compiled some educational resources that you can use, if you so desire:

  • Thanksgiving Reconsidered: This podcast from the History Channel looks at Thanksgiving from both a present-day perspective and a historical retelling of the first Thanksgiving. Learn why some tribes, particularly in the Northeast, now refer to this as a “Day of Mourning.”
  • The First Thanksgiving: This short, family-friendly YouTube video gives a historically accurate overview of what REALLY happened in 17th-century New England. This video also has accessible captioning for those who are hard of hearing.
  • The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell is a Harmful Lie: This opinion piece in TIME Magazine by renowned Native American chef Sean Sherman, also known as The Sioux Chef, talks about his personal experience with Thanksgiving celebrations, the impact the false history has had on him, and how to de-colonize your Thanksgiving meal.

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