Thanksgiving commemorates the welcome offered to foreign newcomers. That first cross-cultural feast set the standard for American hospitality sky-high. Unfortunately, it led to the marginalization and destruction of nations who called this land their home, and many of their descendants grieve the open-hearted generosity of their ancestors. My Thanksgiving prayer is that those of us who are newcomers today will repay any hospitality we receive with a blessing instead of a curse — restoring grace to the holiday in memory of the first peoples who welcomed strangers into their communities.