When we think of thanksgiving we think of the harvest feast between the pilgrims and a friendly Indian tribe that welcomed them to America teach them how to live in a new place and sit down for dinner, then disappearing.
But that’s not how thanksgiving played out. it was actually much war, disease and many things even a grown man couldn’t even fathom.
Thanksgiving has been watered down, and many have been taught an incomplete and, in some cases, incorrect understanding of what happened.
The truth is that for the Wampanoag tribe (among other Native tribes), the fourth Thursday in November is considered a day of mourning, not a day of celebration. Although the Wampanoags did help the Pilgrims survive, their support was followed by years of slow, unfolding genocide of their people and stealing their land.
Even though there are records of a celebration taking place, there is no true evidence to support that the Wampanoag tribe was present or invited to the feast. An account said 90 members of the Wampanoag tribe were present but does not state that members of the tribe were invited.
Some historians believe that these 90 men were an army sent by Wampanoag leader “Ousamequin” at the sound of gunshots, which was a part of the celebration.
Interactions between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people were anything but friendly, and the Pilgrims were the aggressors. During their first encounter with the Wampanoag people, the Pilgrims stole from the tribe’s stowed crops.
Although later, Ousamequin formed an alliance between the groups, the alliance was only established after the Wampanoag people were devastated by diseases brought by European colonizers during previous years. This decision was more so a measured attempt at survival than it was to ensure intercultural harmony.
Thanksgiving celebrations that took place among European settlers often followed brutal victories over Native people, like the Pequot Massacre of 1636 and the beheading of the Wampanoag leader, Metacom, in 1676.
No matter the truth of the history of thanksgiving being a tribe that welcomed the Plymouth colonists and having a friendly feast, or it really being war, stealing and death- we can say that later on peace was made at some point, so how would we end up with this holiday later on? we all can gather to celebrate thanksgiving no matter the truth.