Layna Transue, Freshman
Almost every kid has learned or will learn the history behind Thanksgiving, Pilgrims and Native Americans coming together to feast after a bountiful harvest, but the real history reveals that it didn't happen quite like that.
For starters, the "Pilgrims", who were actually called Separationists at the time, did have a 3-day celebration that was attended by the Wampanoags a year after the Separationists landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Although that aspect of the story was true, the name "Thanksgiving" wasn't actually used to describe this festivity until the 1830s, a little less than 200 years after the event titled the "First Thanksgiving". Furthermore, calling this event the "First Thanksgiving" isn't entirely correct. Europeans and Native Americans have held festivals quite like that of what the Pilgrims had, celebrating harvests before they ever landed in America. Comparatively, many believe that the first Thanksgiving was actually a result of the Pequot War massacre of the Pequot people in 1637. A Thanksgiving-esque celebration was recorded after the massacre, but historians believe it wasn't the blueprint for the modern-day Thanksgiving celebration.
Another common myth was that the Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom, when, in fact, they actually came to America to establish a theocracy. A theocracy is a government system where priests rule in the name of god. Pilgrims came to America because of their dislike and distrust of the European government and their desire to make money. If Pilgrims wanted religious freedom, they would have stayed in Holland, the first place Separationists, those wanting to separate themselves from the church, resided in. Also, the Mayflower wasn't the first contact that Native Americans had with Europeans. Before the Mayflower expedition, Europeans and Native Americans were locked in a bloody battle that resulted in the slaughter of hundreds, if not thousands, of Native Americans by disease and by a weapon. At least two members of the Wampanoag tribe spoke English by the time the Pilgrims had arrived.
There is a common misconception that the Pilgrims extended an invitation to the Natives as a 'thank you' for helping situate themselves in America. The gesture, a thank you, is the true basis for the holiday, especially in elementary schools, but there is no record of the Pilgrims ever inviting the Natives to the feast. What many historians believe happened is that either the Wampanoag tribe was tending to their harvest near where the Pilgrims were celebrating, or the chief of the tribe was making diplomatic calls. Either way, both English-written history, and oral Wampanoag history make no mention of the invitation.
While these revelations might have ruined some people's childhood nostalgia, the repercussions the myths themselves have on the Native People and Americans are countless. The idea that the English and the Natives coexisted together and were peaceful allows Americans to be ignorant of the fact that their privilege comes from a place of death and deception rather than peace. Natives are seen as compliant and willing to give up their land when in fact they fought tooth and nail to keep the land that was rightfully theirs.
Just because the events that supposedly started the Thanksgiving tradition didn't go down the way many were taught, doesn't mean that the moral and meaning behind the holiday should be disregarded. This Thanksgiving, remember to thank your friends, your family, your colleagues, and your teachers for what they've done for you. Thank your barista, cashier, doctor, cab driver, bus driver, lunch lady, and whoever you believe deserves appreciation. Now, more than ever, everyone deserves a 'thank you' and some acknowledgment for continuing to help others.
Bibliography
Bugos, Claire. “The Myths of the Thanksgiving and the Lasting Damage They Imbue.” Smithsonian Magazine, 26 November 2019.
Dion, Eryon. “What You Learned About the ‘First Thanksgiving' isn’t True. Here’s the Real Story.” Cape Cod Times, 19 November 2020.
Salem, Maya. “Everything You Learned About Thanksgiving is Wrong.” The New York Times, 21 November 2017.
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