Thanksgiving Special: We're still Here with Simon and Julie

On this Thanksgiving special, Julie and Simon sit down with John for a conversation that moves beyond the holiday myth and into the truth of what this week really means for Indigenous people. Together, they talk about how the familiar Thanksgiving story leaves out the harder history that followed: the theft of land, the slaughter of the buffalo, the broken treaties, and the federal and church-run boarding schools that took Native children to erase their languages, families, and cultures.

They dig into the Land Back movement—what it actually means, why it matters, and how returning stewardship to Indigenous nations is already healing ecosystems and strengthening communities.

And because it’s Thanksgiving, they reflect on gratitude from an Indigenous perspective: not as a single holiday but as a daily practice rooted in reciprocity, responsibility, and relationship with the land.

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