UConn recognizes 'National Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving'
The University of Connecticut’s Office of Diversity Inclusion recognizes the “National Day of Mourning" in addition to Thanksgiving.
The University of Connecticut’s Office of Diversity Inclusion recognizes the “National Day of Mourning” in addition to Thanksgiving.
University of Connecticut’s Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Provost Office announced a number of “Heritage Celebrations” for November that they encourage members of the university’s community to celebrate as a means to participate in “raising awareness.”
In the joint message from the offices, the website reads that “UConn recognizes Native and Indigenous resilience and strength every day of the year. We acknowledge through the Land Acknowledgement Statement that our university sits on lands taken through violence, displacement, assimilation, and terror.”
[RELATED: University at Buffalo hosts ‘tough topics’ event on ‘decolonizing’ Thanksgiving]
In the list of the University of Connecticut’s events for November, the university lists two sentences about the celebration of Thanksgiving, saying that it is “[A] day for expressing gratitude,” and for families to begin “[K]icking off the holiday season.”
Compared to the short description of Thanksgiving, UConn put a paragraph-long description of the Indigenous holiday of the “National Day of Mourning.” In the university’s description of the holiday, the university states that it is meant to “honor and mourn Native and Indigenous people lost to genocide and colonialism.”
The description of the holiday further states that it is meant to “[C]ommemorate Native and Indigenous resilience and resistance.”
The University of Connecticut’s description of the holiday also outlines how the United American Indians of New England hold a march and “speak-out” on the National Day of Mourning.
