‘The true meaning is kind of hard’: How American Indians in Maryland observe Thanksgiving

Growing up with an American Indian father and a Polish mother, Rosie Bowen immediately saw how different cultures observed Thanksgiving. The morning of the holiday, she would go to her American Indian grandmother’s home for dishes eaten by the Lumbee tribe: chicken ‘n pastry, an American Indian dish that consists of flat dough noodles and chicken in a sauce, collard greens, cornbread and fried chicken.“It was more soulful,” the 43-year-old Rosedale resident said, explaining that with tribes such as the Lumbee, whose tribal headquarters are based in Pembroke, North Carolina, traditional foods reflect the southeastern region where they are mostly concentrated. “My Native paternal grandparents house was very different from going to my Polish grandmother’s house.”