Many people reached out after reading my post on Thanksgiving and the comments mostly landed into two categories: those who appreciated the push to think more deeply about this tradition and those who shared that they didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving so much as they celebrated the harvest and being thankful. I could argue that our departure from an agrarian society limits our relationship to harvest and that one could be thankful any of time of the year, but I appreciated their points.
So in a desire to bring more good into the world, I want to express my gratitude for…
- Colleagues who support and amplify my work regularly and consistently.
- Graduate students (all of you!) who allow me to offer guidance and feedback throughout their doctoral journey.
- Opportunities to speak at different campuses about the importance of challenging institutions and organizations to be better when it comes to supporting anti/de-colonial ideology.
- Mentors in and outside of the College of Education who are shepherding me through the promotion and tenure process.
- Indigenous people I am connected with (both at and outside of Purdue) for reminding me of the importance of our communities.
- All of the abundance I have in my life with friends, family, health, fitness, work.
This year has challenged me in ways I didn’t think were possible and while I sometimes wish I had a daily gratitude practice, I do not. But I am practicing gratitude today and maybe that’s enough.
Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. — Maya Angelou
Thank you for reading.
Doing Indian Country Research 