Vegan Practically

This weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada, where we celebrate the harvest season. For me, it is a time to get together with my family. As a settler Canadian living on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton Nations, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum, I acknowledge the land and its complicated history.

I spend the Thanksgiving weekend with my family at my parents’ house in the Haliburton Highlands, located on Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory, and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which are Curve Lake, Rama, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Beausoleil and Georgina Island First Nations.

I recognize that acknowledging the land and expressing gratitude for what it yields has very strong roots in Indigenous traditions. Many people think of “Thanksgiving” as a colonial tradition. But the practice of giving thanks for the land’s yield — just as the land itself — was not “discovered” by European settlers.

The Office of Indigenous Initiatives at my University has really outstanding resources about Land Acknowledgments, in order to help us move them beyond being merely performative rote recitations at the beginning of a meeting or event, and also to help people appreciate their complexity. I especially recommend More than Words: A Guide to Land Acknowledgements at Western University and the reflection questions document included on the website, which conclude with the question: “What intentions do you have to disrupt and dismantle colonialism beyond this territory acknowledgement?” Reckoning with colonial histories is an ongoing process and practice.

So I enter this Thanksgiving with this context in mind, and plan to keep it in view as I gratefully spend time and enjoy meals with my family. Now, as the vegan outlier at a traditional turkey dinner, what will I eat?

Since this is “Fun Friday,” and I have already (I hope) forced more reflection than usual with my opening comments on land acknowledgements and colonial histories, I will go straight to vegan options for Canadian Thanksgiving. Here is a great post of suggestions that will take you through the whole meal. It includes maple balsamic brussels sprouts, seitan turk’y, cauliflower gratin, pumpkin pie, and five other options for a complete meal.

What am I going to eat?

My go-to for Thanksgiving and Christmas is the Gardein savory stuffed turk’y with gravy. There are people who think that mimicking the dead bird is not the way to go. They will instead go for stuffed acorn squash or squash-stuffed shells or a rice and lentil loaf or something other hearty substitute. I am not among those people. I love the Gardein stuffed turk’y with gravy, especially with cranberry sauce. For me, cranberry sauce is what elevates ordinary food into holiday food, and it doesn’t go with everything!

Once the main dish is handled, everything else is vegan anyway until we get to dessert. My mother is an unbelievably good cook and she takes my veganism seriously. So where there is butter in something, it becomes vegan butter. Where there is stock, it becomes veggie stock. This year she is making bread-based stuffing because none of the boxed versions at the supermarket were vegan. So here’s what will be on the menu:

• veganized stuffing
• wild rice and cranberry stuffing that I am making from this recipe
• roasted potatoes
• roasted sweet potatoes
• peas
• carrots
• cauliflower with white sauce (made with plant-based milk)
• squash
• homemade cranberry sauce

There are two non-vegan pumpkin pies, but that’s okay. I could make an apple crumble or a pumpkin pudding. But regardless of whether I get my act together for that, I have fudge.

Bon appétit!