When I moved to the United States from the Philippines as a child, American Thanksgiving was truly foreign to me. It's not the concept of Thanksgiving itself that I did not know about, as many countries all around the world have a day of thanksgiving (like Canadian Thanksgiving is always held on the second Monday in October and as we mentioned in a previous newsletter, Korean Thanksgiving (Chuseok) is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar) that was unfamiliar. Rather, it was the tradition of the Thanksgiving meal itself as well as its origins were things I didn't really know much about before I moved.

Since we immigrated, we would meet with family for a meal that day, but our Thanksgiving spread was (and still is) not what one might see in a Thanksgiving picture book. Often we had turkey (that would be left mostly uneaten because not many people in my family like turkey). There would also be ham with pineapple and brown sugar glaze (which is what Filipinos usually serve during special meals). We would have green beans and mashed potatoes with gravy next to pancit (vermicelli stir-fried noodles) and lumpia (Filipino egg rolls). Dessert would include pecan pie (my favorite), which was placed right next to the mango roll cake and leche flan. While we adapted to our new home, we also adapted traditions like Thanksgiving meals to our Filipino culture. I am sure there are others who have experienced adopting and adapting to a new culture and tradition.

As I got older and learned more about the history and traditions of Thanksgiving, I came to learn of Thanksgiving's significance to others. American Thanksgiving itself is a story about the moving of people from lands. The Pilgrims from their homes initially in the Netherlands and then moved to Britain before settling in the lands of a "new" world because they wanted to find a place with better opportunities for their community. The Wampanoag People (and then many First Nations and Peoples after) were forced to move from their original homelands because others wanted the land for resources. Thanksgiving is complicated- also, it is not the only holiday with a complicated past. It is a past that in learning more about, I acknowledge and must adapt to once more.

Where does this leave me with celebrating Thanksgiving? I still celebrate it as part of the traditions my family has grown with over the last 20 or so years of living in America. However, I also am adding what I've learned into the way that I celebrate it and how I talk about Thanksgiving, including giving thanks to the people who used to, currently, and will inhabit the land and country I now call home.

The Glen Grove Community Project acknowledges that the land on which their community, Glenview District 34, lives and works today is in the original homelands of the Peoria, Bodwéwadmi (Potawatomi), Myaamia, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Hoocąk (Ho-Chunk), and Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) People and pay respects to the elders and communities of past and present.

In conjunction with this land acknowledgment, we want to provide resources to learn more about the original peoples and communities of the land.

Resources

• A Story of Survival: The Wampanoag and the English (A Native American Perspective of Thanksgiving)
• The Wampanoag Way (video)
• Native Americans (BrainPop video)
• Native America: A Documentary Exploring the World of America's First Peoples (PBS trailer)
• Glenview Public Library resources
• Visit The Grove to learn more about Native American groups that originally inhabited the area.

We are in need of artifacts, crafts, and other items to include in our display for our Festivals of Light holidays (which include many of our winter holidays like Hanukkah, St. Lucia Day, various Christmases, Kwanzaa, etc.). If you have pictures, recipe cards, crafts, visuals, candle holders, and other items that art part of your practices and are willing to lend them to us, please contact Aurora Joaquin at mjoaquin@glenview34.org!

We are looking for community members to join us at the table as we plan for events, resources, and more. If you are interested, please reach out to one of our committee members or send us an email!

In honor of Veterans Day and to highlight the community's history with the Glenview Naval Air Station, the GGCP displayed visuals and resources surrounding this holiday. Students colored poppies, which are symbolic of veterans. Poppies are resilient, known to grow in rocky and difficult places.

Molly of Denali is a PBS show about a 10-year old girl named Molly Mabray, who lives in Alaska and runs a vlog. She is Gwich'in, Koyukon, and Dena'ina Athabascan descent, which are indigenous Alaskan tribes. She chronicles her adventures with her friends and family and showcases the language and customs of her culture. The cast of the show includes many voice actors who belong to several Native American and First Nation groups.

Molly of Denali received several awards over the past few years including the 2020 Peabody Award for the Children's and Youth category as well as the 2021 Kidscreen Awards for Best Inclusivity.

Click here for the playlist of episodes

When the students and staff of Glen Grove were asked what they were thankful for this year, this is what they said...

How does your family show gratitude?

Committee Members

• Katherine Ellison, Glen Grove Principal
• Aurora Joaquin, Glen Grove Speech-Language Pathologist
• Katelyn Kelleher, Glen Grove Psychologist
• Hedy Helfand, Glen Grove English Langauge Learning Teacher
• Marie Chang-Pisano, Glen Grove Reading Intervention Associate
• Sylvia Gorski Duarte, District Title III Family Resource Teacher
• Lindsey Lurie, District Multilingual Instructional Coach

Email: GGCommunityProject@gmail.com