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Today’s newsletter started out as an acknowledgment at the top of a link roundup but it got very long and felt important enough to deserve its own post. The top includes general information and educational resources, while there are sports-specific recommendations towards the end.
Here in the U.S., yesterday was a National Day of Mourning for Indigenous Americans, known federally as “Thanksgiving.” I’d encourage folks to use the map at native-land.ca to find out whose ancestral tribal land they are living on. Some tribes accept donations directly—I send a small monthly donation to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, whose land I currently live on. I am also early in the process of engaging in ongoing reparations to the Catawba Nation after recently learning through ancestral research that I am descended on my paternal side from people who were some of the very first white settlers on Catawba land in what is now known as South Carolina (this work is very personal and not something I speak about publicly very often. I only do so here to offer transparency and a roadmap for others who may be in similar situations but unsure where or how to begin to acknowledge or repair generational harms).
You can also donate to the United American Indians of New England, who organize the annual National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, MA. If you’ve never attended or heard of the National Day of Mourning, you can watch the livestream back. It’s a very powerful and moving action. I’d also encourage you to take a few minutes to listen to this year’s National Day of Mourning Address from Leonard Peltier, an activist with the American Indian Movement who was recently released from prison after decades of wrongful incarceration for the murders of two FBI agents.
In terms of ongoing education, I would like to recommend some books:
I own two cookbooks by Indigenous chef Sean Sherman that I enjoy:
His new book, Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America, which is divided into regions
For kids:
There is a Young People’s edition of An Indigenous People’s History of the United States, as well as a graphic version.
There’s also a middle grade reader book called Colonization and the Wampanoag Story by Linda Coombs
A great book that includes contemporary Native people, Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers From Past and Present by Adrienne Keene.
Let’s talk sports:
Today’s Minnesota Wild game will have an Ojibwe-language broadcast, which is the coolest thing!
Maybe grab yourself a New York Sirens Abby Roque shirsey from the PWHL shop
They also still have Alissa Pili jerseys available for the Minnesota Lynx and LA Sparks
Read up on the history of lacrosse, a sport created by Indigenous North Americans—The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse by S.L. Price.
Did you know that, despite literally inventing the sport, the International Olympic Committee is refusing to allow Indigenous North American teams compete under their own flags in the 2028 Games?
Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation by Michael Powell was the inspiration for the Netflix show Rez Ball (though it’s worth noting that Powell himself is a white man).
David Kamper’s Rez Ballers and Skate Elders is more academic, but fascinating nonetheless.
The YA novel Rez Ball by Byron Graves is also wonderful.