While the turkey was being cooked, my granny and I set the table. “For a formal day like Thanksgiving,” she told me, “you have to make sure to set the table right.” The spoon and knife had to go on the right side of the plate, resting on top of a napkin, and the fork on the left. The fact that this was an important part of Thanksgiving is evidence of a tradition being passed down through kinship; Granny’s mother taught her, and now she was teaching me.

“Thanksgiving and Kinship.” Interview by Marilyn Neiwert. November 28, 2017