WATCH: Colin Kaepernick Celebrates ‘Unthanksgiving Day’ On Alcatraz

24 Nov, 2017 by Margaret M.

Print this article Font size -16+

Did you have a nice UnThanksgiving? Colin Kaepernick did.

Kaerpernick, who is out of work after humiliating himself with the San Francisco 49ers and started the ball rolling on a major decline in audience support of the NFL, spent part of Thursday at the yearly Unthanksgiving held on Alcatraz. The event is meant to commemorate a 19-month stint from late 1969 to 1971 by Native activists. Kaepernick told the people there that “Our fight is the same fight,” which is for “justice [and] for our freedom.”

Colin, along with 89 activists (and presumably the girlfriend whose rotten attitude has been cited as a major reason for why he’ll never play in the NFL again) raised the demand that the rocky island’s empty prison should be made into a cultural center with a school. It’s a bit of a stretch that Kaepernick’s anthem protest is the same thing as Natives who are expressly looking for the observation of their interpretation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie, signed in 1868, which says that out-of-use federal lands ought to be returned to the Natives who had previously occupied it.

This year’s Indigenous People’s Sunrise Gathering included traditional dance demonstrations along with an observation of the rising sun.

Recently, Kaepernick was declared to be GQ’s “Citizen of the Year,” comparing his kneeling to Muhammad Ali’s stance against the Vietnam War, conveniently forgetting that unlike Kaepernick, Ali was at the top of his game and his protest against the Vietnam War had more of a Civil Rights bent. Kaerpernick’s beef is with the bad statistics that make it appear that police officers around the country are specifically trying to harm black Americans.

So far, NFL legends like Tony Gonzalez have agreed that the protests and Colin himself are not worth the “headache” of the bad press and trouble it causes for the team.

With the video available on Twitter, the comments range from supportive (“You rock man. You were meant for more than football.”) to more nuanced:

“Im Native American tribal member, to me this is ridiculous. I was not here, nor do I know anyone here 200+ years ago. Even 100 years ago. I know I sure enjoy plumbing, running water, air conditioning, automobiles, sports, every modern day convenience that wouldnt be here.”

As well, one person kept trying to explain the singular impact of Squanto who embraced Christianity before returning to North America where he assisted his fellow Christian pilgrims to work with the locals.

And then there was this silly Photoshop:

Meanwhile in an alternate timeline…#ThankfulForKap pic.twitter.com/ex121JVurg

— Resist Programming ???? (@RzstProgramming) November 24, 2017

Here’s the short, one-minute video Kaepernick posted on his Twitter account yesterday afternoon:

Today, I was on Alcatraz Island at the Indigenous People’s Sunrise Gathering, in solidarity with those celebrating their culture and paying respects to those that participated in the 19 month occupation of Alcatraz in an effort to force ???????? to honor the Treaty of Fort Laramie. pic.twitter.com/KdNtY3dp72

— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) November 24, 2017