Natives From Across the Americas Will Participate in Today’s 86th Macy’s Thanksgiving Parads

For the fifth straight year the Oneida Nation-sponsored float, “The True Spirit of Thanksgiving” will take part in the 86th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Representatives of over 20 different nations from across the Americas will accompany the float as it spreads a traditional message of peace and thanksgiving.

Heading up the all Native choir will be Grammy-winning Native American artist Thirza Defoe. Defoe  is currently attending the New York University Fellow Graduate of Music and Song Writing Program and spent countless hours in the studio composing the song the choir will be singing called “Tree of Life” which was especially written for this year’s event. “I wrote the song with all people in mind not just from my own perspective, it joyously celebrates peace, love and giving thanks,” says Defoe. “ I feel that Native participation in the parade can begin to bring about new ideas of Thanksgiving and possibly reinvent the stereotyped images Americans have of the holiday.” Choir members hope to show the public that native people are still here, alive and flourishing in present day America. The float will also show them how very different Native Americans are, touching on the fact that so many tribes are represented in this year’s parade.

You can’t miss “The True Spirit of Thanksgiving.” It is the largest float in the parade and often brings the loudest cheers from the crowds. Don’t miss coverage of this year’s Thanksgiving Day Parade; it airs nationally on NBC from 9 a.m. to noon in all time zones. The “True Spirit of Thanksgiving” float is scheduled to reach TV cameras around 10:30 a.m.

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