Los Angeles Unified School District provides teachers with lessons for students that attack the idea of Thanksgiving

The Los Angeles Unified School District has two resources on the district’s “Human Relations, Diversity and Equity” page online attacking the holiday Thanksgiving. The district explains on the page: “The Office of Human Relations, Diversity & Equity has created an array of short, student-facing Push & Play lessons for educators to utilize in their advisory classes. These lessons may serve as a starting place for educators who wish to adapt them for their unique student populations.” One lesson is a PowerPoint presentation titled “Let’s Talk about Thanksgiving.”

The presentation asks the question: “Everything We Know about Thanksgiving is WRONG?” The next slide in the presentation states that “in the Native American version [of Thanksgiving], the arrival of the Pilgrims marks the beginning of the end.” The presentation then states that “years earlier British slaving crews introduced smallpox to the native people; over 90% of the local population died.”

The second part of the presentation is titled “Problematic Story Telling.” Students are then told to “learn about the history of the people whose land you live on.” Another slide in the presentation encourages students to “Show Your Solidarity with LGBTQ+ Students and Families.”

Another lesson for students attacking Thanksgiving is a PowerPoint presentation titled “National Day of Mourning.” The lesson states: “National Day of Mourning began in 1970 as a way for Indigenous people to remember their ancestors and grieve their genocide.” The lesson continues to explain that “the objective is to raise awareness of the misrepresentation of the Indigenous people and the colonial experience” and that “the National Day of Mourning hopes to educate folks about the true history of the colonialization of America and end the national myth.”

The lesson then asks students: “Do you think people are starting to re-think their understanding of Thanksgiving?” This lesson also ends with a message for students that states: “Show Your Solidarity with LGBTQ+ Students and Families.”