As Myaamia people we enjoy a good feast as much as anyone else, and many of our families will be gathering to share a meal with family and friends for Thanksgiving. Because it’s such a widely celebrated holiday, we thought it’d be useful to be able to talk about it in Myaamiaataweenki.

So the staff of the Myaamia Center came up with the term pileewa akiišikomi (Turkey’s Day – aka Thanksgiving). This neat turn of phrase allows you to say fun things like:

neeyolaani kati pileewa akiišikomi
I will see you on Turkey’s Day (Thanksgiving)

or

maalami wiihsa weehsiniaani eehkwi pileewa akiišikomi 
I ate too much on Turkey’s Day (Thanksgiving).

or

amwaahsiiwaki pileewa ileeši eehkwa weeyaakiteehiaani pileewa akiišikomi 
I don’t eat turkey but I still like Turkey’s Day (Thanksgiving).

or

nahi wiihsiniko pileewa akiišikomi!
Y’all eat well on Turkey Day (Thanksgiving).

The audio files for all of these can be found on the Myaamia Online Dictionary or ILDA Dictionary app!

If you are looking for educational materials related to Thanksgiving, we recommend Five Ideas to Change Teaching about Thanksgiving, in Classrooms and at Home by Renée Gokey. If you’re looking for children’s book about being thankful, we highly recommend We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga written by Traci Sorell and illustrated by Frané  Lessac.

Until our next language post – myaamiaataweeko neehi nahi wiihsiniko pileewa akiišikomi!

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Last updated: November 24, 2020