My nephew just sent a text saying he'll only attend our Thanksgiving if we're serving an "indigenously sourced turkey."

[PeaceWave]

Last edited Wed Nov 26, 2025, 04:45 PM - Edit history (1)

He says his decision is based on "ethical and political" reasons. I don't know what he's going on about. Back during the pandemic, he was suddenly insisting that Thanksgiving be referred to as Indigenous People's Day. Maybe it's related to that. All I know is that we got our turkey from Safeway and it weighs damn close to 25 pounds, which was a son of an itch to carry since I'm currently suffering from tennis elbow in one arm and a pain unlike anything I've ever experienced. Will he even know the difference, one turkey from another?

Okay, I have an update per Google AI:

"Indigenously sourced turkey" can refer to turkeys with a direct cultural connection to Indigenous peoples or, more recently, turkeys raised on farms that prioritize sustainable and natural practices, often locally. To find such a turkey, search for local farms, especially those raising heritage breeds, and inquire about their sourcing and farming methods.

Modern "indigenously sourced" or "heritage" turkeys

Modern farms, particularly those that promote sustainable and natural practices, are sometimes described as offering "indigenously sourced" turkeys. Many farms raise "heritage breeds" which are a result of the original domestication process from Indigenous populations in North America. Look for farms that raise these birds with specific methods:

(1) Pasture-raised: Allow birds to roam and forage on pasture, often supplemented with organic feed.
(2) No antibiotics or hormones: Raised without the use of antibiotics, growth hormones, or other non-therapeutic chemicals.
(3) Sustainable practices: Some farms have breeding stock on-site and do not rely on commercial hatcheries, which can involve vaccination programs that are not considered "natural" by some standards.

[leftstreet]

1. Hope he doesn't read DU

or know your username

[Sympthsical]

14. Nephew kind of implies under 50, so . . .

We're probably ok.

[leftstreet]

18. ...

[jfz9580m]

59. I am only in my late forties!

I am a mere chit !

[mahina]

2. Maybe let him know it's too late for this year but you'd welcome his participation

In the endeavor next year, thanks for the suggestion, and let him know he is welcome?

Wow that is one way to try and make things better but yikes, comes off pretty rude. Good intentions tough!

[viva la]

51. Also say that you would be so proud next year when he brings the appropriate turkey that HE PAID FOR.

Pretty arrogant of him to expect you to pay for his "activism" or whatever he would call this.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. A bit goddam late for that query

Unless he wants it to be an excuse to not come at all.

If he means "comes from an American Indian-owned farm", I'd guess it's a vanishingly small percentage that do. Is he going to be similarly worried about all the other food?

[RockRaven]

4. Tell him the only way to find out what is being served is to show up and see for oneself.

And that goes for everything, turkey or not. Maybe there is no turkey! Who knows? Only people who show up!

[maxsolomon]

5. All the Turkey has to be is Grown in America? Problem solved.

And Columbus Day is now Indigenous People's Day.

Kids are dumb.

[DenaliDemocrat]

64. No its not

And this kid is a dumb ass if it’s true. Nothing pisses me off like dumb kids screaming about native rights while drinking a Starbucks and living in suburbia. Yeah - you live on stolen land too to give your house to the local tribes first or keep quiet.

If you want an indigenous bird - go hunt a turkey. Although most people would probably be stunned to see how little flavor a wild bird has. They are actually less gamey than factory birds.

[maxsolomon]

70. It's not officially Indigenous People's Day.

But it's gaining popularity.

[edhopper]

6. Tell him

that's Columbus Day and stop being performative.

[Ocelot II]

7. Turkeys are native to the Americas, so any turkey you get is "indigenously sourced."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_(bird)

[Srkdqltr]

8. Tell him to bring his own.

[Polly Hennessey]

12. That would be my response to him.

Also, it is his choice to eat or not to eat any food that is not ‘indigenously sourced’.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. sure he did

[Ocelot II]

19. ?

[SheltieLover]

10. Tell him you've already selected your bird & invite him to buy next year's

Or whatever you plan to serve for Christmas or whichever holiday you may celebrate.

That will likely shut him up.

[Sneederbunk]

11. I didn't see you paying for the turkey, Nephew.

[llmart]

13. How old is this nephew?

Tell him you'd be happy to have him roast a turkey of his choice - enough for everyone - and thank him for hosting at his place. Also, ask that he have cranberry sauce that he has harvested himself organically.

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

15. If you tell him it's from El Salvador, will he stay home?

Just sayin'. Seems like a plan.

[Vinca]

16. Text him back and tell him you'll miss him. Guests don't get to choose the menu.

[beaglelover]

17. Best reply yet!

[Mz Pip]

21. Or thank him

for bring the turkey.

[Conjuay]

20. "to me, 'indegously sourced' implies

A wild turkey.
Tell him to bring his own bottle of 'Wild Turkey' if that's what's he's hoping for.

[Skittles]

22. send him this

&pp=ygUTbGVzbGllIHRoYW5rc2dpdmluZw%3D%3D

[Alice Kramden]

31. LOL

A little something for everyone

[Skittles]

35. gawd we could all use a Leslie right now

[Scrivener7]

40. My sister has promised she will channel Leslie for Thanksgiving. Because we all need her!

[SSJVegeta]

23. I mean. He doesnt have to eat it.

[Alice Kramden]

33. Exactly

He can bring what he wishes to eat - and bring enough to share

[Tetrachloride]

24. my oven my rules. turkey purchased before last week

— could happen

[Tetrachloride]

25. Ever since Turkiye changed their spelling, Grease hasn't been the same

[DFW]

62. They didn't change their spelling. Most of the rest of the world did.

Sen Türkçe bilmiyorsun? In Turkish, ever since they adopted the Roman alphabet and ditched the Arabic, it was always Türkiye, which is how they pronounce it. They got tired of the jokes about the bird, so they leaned on the UN to change it from the English spelling to the Turkish spelling, which went through in 2022.

I had a small clique of Turkish friends while in college, and they insisted on my learning some of their language. This intensified when I told then I had "met a girl" in Germany. When I told them I would probably be spending more time in Germany (little did I know!), they told me I had to increase my knowledge of Turkish, because I "would need it there." I didn't know what they meant, but I found out soon enough. Fifty years ago, relations between Germans and Turks living here were not as cordial as they are now, and my tiny knowledge of their language opened more doors for me here than I ever imagined possible.

I now know far more Turkish than "Greak," and the film with Travolta didn't help in the slightest

[Tetrachloride]

67. big ty for clarification. i have one good acquaintance in Instanbul.

i was obviously a notch ethnocentric

[DFW]

68. There are a couple of million Turks living here in Germany

After a few decades of that, you learn stuff!

[bucolic_frolic]

27. Hand him a blunderbuss and shoo him out the door

Time for Daniel Boone to use Daniel Boone methods

[dpibel]

28. What a fun story!

You don't even know about Indigenous People's Day? Wow.

That woke stuff! It's a bummer, innit?

[Scrivener7]

39. Well, but it's Columbus Day that's now called Indigenous People's Day. Not Thanksgiving.

[cachukis]

29. The bird was probably born here.

[rsdsharp]

30. Tell him he can go shoot a deer. There were five of them on the original Thanksgiving menu.

I hope he’s good with a bow.

[Prairie_Seagull]

32. I would hope that

it is a still burgeoning ideology.

Does he have a source from witch to acquire one?

[Kaleva]

34. indigenous wild turkey is tough and doesn't have the flavor

[Ocelot II]

36. All wild turkeys are indigenous - they are native to the Americas.

But being wild animals they weren't bred for edibility like their descendants, the big fat domestic ones. Even so, there's no such thing as a non-indigenous turkey.

[Kaleva]

41. The domestic turkeys we have today are not native

They wouldn’t survive long in the wild. Wild turkeys, being native, thrive in such an environment.

[Ocelot II]

46. They're native in the sense that they are the descendants of indigenous animals.

They have become domesticated, but they were bred from indigenous birds. Their great-xxxx grandparents were native wild turkeys; a wild turkey and a domestic turkey are the same species, Meleagris gallopavo. No turkeys have lived naturally anywhere but the western hemisphere.

[H2O Man]

37. It has more dark meat

which is great for making pemmican.

Back when I raised turkeys, I had a friend who snatched some wild turkey eggs from nests in the spring. Put them in with the modern turkey eggs, and I'd have a good variety in the fall.

[Kaleva]

42. Interesting!

[Scrivener7]

38. Tell him you're sorry to hear that and he will be missed. Then say, "Buh bye."

[DBoon]

43. Tell him you've already bought the turkey

and if he like he can bring an "indigenously sourced turkey" to share with the rest of the family in addition.

And maybe he can let you know where you can buy an "indigenously sourced turkey" for next year,

I'd act deliberately clueless rather than outraged. It might get better results.

ON Edit:

I just looked up "indigenously sourced turkey." on Google and the only sites that came up were posts in this DU Thread. It might please you to know there likely is no such thing.

[flvegan]

44. Ethically sourced Thanksgiving turkey? lol

"Welcome to a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner then!"

Pfft. Kids.

[Alice Kramden]

50. "Ethically sourced" sounds plausible

I don't think there is such a thing as "indigienously sourced"

[GreenWave]

45. Columbus? Do you mean Cristofer Colom?

Wake up and show the Inquisition they can't get to you!

[GJGCA]

47. Consider flipping the bird ..

...at him rather than for him...?

That said, best T-day wishes to all!

[11 Bravo]

48. Fine. Send him directions to the nearest McDonald's.

[Rebl2]

49. Let him

find that type turkey next year and make the meal for the family.

[haele]

52. Rather difficult, in some places of the US

Here in California, we don't have many "Indigenous Turkeys", unless you consider Turkey Buzzards.
We do hav some local ranchers who do organic/heritage ranching that includes sufficient poultry - chicken, geese, "wild/hybrid " turkey, duck, pheasant, quail - to sell (pre-order) to local high end buyers and farmer's markets, but the fowl are still pretty much all Eastern US or European based stock (Chicken is not an American native bird) except for the quail.
No Grouse or Roadrunner, either.
As for the local indigenous tribes, they pretty much only raise chicken or duck.
So, good luck. Maybe he can get a hunting license next year and scour the Eastern and Southern back roads in early November for next year's bird...

If he's that set on an "indigenous" or heritage raised bird, best tell him the size you want, have him go to your local Farmer's market to pre-order it - and expect to pay $4 a lb.

[CentralMass]

53. Well that's tough turkey.

[Sea Turtle]

54. FYI, no antibiotics means sick animals aren't treated

I have a friend that runs a farm. They explained the whole organic no antibiotic thing. It means if an animal gets sick, they do not offer antibiotics. It either gets better on its own, dies on its own, or is put down to keep it from infecting other animals.

Cows that have been given antibiotics must wait a certain period before their milk can be sold. They are still milked, but it isn’t sold. When the milk truck shows up, the milk is tested for antibiotics.

[Ping Tung]

55. Tell them not to speak Spanish near visitors or it will be the oven for them.

[NickB79]

56. Want the wild turkey in my freezer?

Nothing more indigenously sourced than the ones I shoot in the woods near my house 🤣

Not the greatest for roasting though. I'm gonna grind mine up and make turkey sausage.

[dpibel]

57. I'm nominating this for...

best "How Many Knees Can I Get to Jerk" award of the year. Maybe of ever.

It is a classic, and I congratulate you on your art.

[Iggo]

60. "See you next year, kiddo."

[betsuni]

61. Safeway turkey: Complicit with late stage capitalist status quo colonial empire oppressors, and too much white meat.

"Imitation of Woke."

[DFW]

63. We get out turkey from poultry vendors here in Germany

They are raised here, and their chickens are (as far as we know, and requested) not raised with hormones or antibiotics, but we have no way of controlling that. We just hope for the best.

When we are on vacation on Cape Cod, there are always families of wild turkeys all over the place, but we have been told that they are not suitable for eating, as they are tough and gamey. The domesticated ones must have undergone some selective breeding. I'm sure that suits the wild ones just fine, since nobody bothers them.

[betsuni]

69. I just checked an online meat vendor selling turkeys in Japan, ten pound bird for equivalent of $77.00.

Luckily they're sold out so I can't give in to nostalgia. I'd have to go all the way to a Costco and those Butterball or similar turkeys are pumped full of water and preservatives and I can't bring myself to pay that much for turkey water.

Supermarkets sell whole chickens in December so I pretend it's turkey, but these very expensive chickens are usually pale scrawny pathetic carcasses that should go straight into a stock pot and given some privacy, not made to put on airs and be paraded around as the centerpiece of a festive holiday meal. A Cratchit chicken.

[RandiFan1290]

65. Cool story, bro.

[PCIntern]

66. I am so fucking tired of these people who

Make all kinds of demands upon the rest of us. I will tell you that ever since I was a young man, and somebody placed certain conditions upon me for attendance or participation, my response was almost literally “go fuck yourself“.

I once invited a friend of mine to attend a party, and he actually said to me “I don’t know… Who’s coming?“. My response was, “not you“. And left it at that. He quickly got the “joke“ and apologized, but I have absolutely no patience for this shit. Sorry, but that’s me… Or more correctly, that is I.

[Torchlight]

71. An imaginative holiday story

Good luck