It's a shame someone has to take this thread in that direction, but since it has happened, I would simply encourage anyone interested to read "Mayflower--A Story Of Courage, Community, and War" by the excellent historian Nathaniel Philbrick. The truth is that "the Thanksgiving tale we tell ourselves" is essentially true, and not a lie at all. The Pilgrims, who left England to pursue religious liberty, landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in November 1620 and were completely unprepared for the harsh winter conditions and generally poor soils for farming in eastern Massachusetts. The first winter was brutal for them, as only 47 survived from the original party of 102, mainly from disease and starvation.
It was in the spring of the next year that a member of the Wampanoag tribe named Squanto befriended the Pilgrims, taught them how to plant and grow corn, and taught other survival techniques to assist them to survive the next winter. Out of gratitude to God for preserving their small number and strengthening them after the searing experience of the winter of 1620-21 as well as a way of offering thanks to the Wampanoags, a feast was prepared in October 1621. The feast lasted three days, and was attended by 53 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans.
In this way, "the tale we tell ourselves" about the First Thanksgiving is essentially true.
The book does go on to describe the events leading up to the destructive Pequot War of 1636-38, a war that was fought over control of the Dutch fur trade. The Pequots, in an effort to extend their territorial rights, launched raids against other tribes, including the Wampanoags, and this war among the tribes spilled over into violence between the Pequots and Puritan settlers in both the Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut settlements. The Narragansetts and the Mohegan tribes fought on the side of the European settlers and, ultimately, prevailed over the Pequots, which were wiped out by the war.
Philbrick goes into great detail describing the moral difficulties that Governor William Bradford had in waging the war. Efforts at peace without war, however, were unsuccessful.
Bottom line: The story by Time Magazine makes for a good headline, but is itself much more deceptive than the real truth of the First Thanksgiving.
This day is still remembered today, 373 years later. No, it's been long forgotten by white people, by European Christians. But it is still fresh in the mind of many Indians. A group calling themselves the United American Indians of New England meet each year at Plymouth Rock on Cole's Hill for what they say is a Day of Mourning. They gather at the feet of a stature of Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag to remember the long gone Pequot. They do not call it Thanksgiving.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-true-story-of-thanksg_b_788436
Pilgrims perceived Indians in relation to the Devil and the only reason why they were invited to that feast was for the purpose of negotiating a treaty that would secure the lands for the Pilgrims. The reason why we have so many myths about Thanksgiving is that it is an invented tradition. It is based more on fiction than fact.
"William Newell, a Penobscot Indian and former chair of the anthropology department of the University of Connecticut, claims that the first Thanksgiving was not “a festive gathering of Indians and Pilgrims, but rather a celebration of the massacre of 700 Pequot men, women and children.” In 1637
” Most Americans believe Thanksgiving was this wonderful dinner and harvest celebration. The truth is the “Thanksgiving dinner” was invented both to instill a false pride in Americans and to cover up the massacre."
https://www.republicoflakotah.com/2009/cooking-the-history-books-the-thanksgiving-massacre/
"Since 1970, Native Americans have gathered every Thanksgiving around Cole’s Hill at Plymouth Rock for a National Day of Mourning to remember the Pequot and what happened to them in 1637. This Thanksgiving, before we dig into the bounty this nation has given us, let’s all take a moment to mourn with them and remember that there are two sides to every story."
"It’s a heart-warming tale, and for the most part it’s also true. Documents confirm that a small group of pilgrims did indeed celebrate a harvest festival with some local natives at the start of their second year in the New World. But that celebration was never called Thanksgiving, nor did it become a ritual celebrated with any regularity. Instead, the first official Thanksgiving – while much less idyllic – more accurately reflects the tenuous relationship between white settlers and Native Americans that characterized America’s settlement. But you probably didn’t learn about this Thanksgiving in grade school."
https://www.phillymag.com/news/2012/11/20/dark-origins-thanksgiving/
On May 26, 1637, two hours before dawn, the Puritans and their Indian allies marched on the Pequot village at Mystic, slaughtering all but a handful of its inhabitants. On June 5, Captain Mason attacked another Pequot village, this one near present-day Stonington, and again the Indian inhabitants were defeated and massacred. On July 28, a third attack and massacre occurred near present-day Fairfield, and the Pequot War came to an end. Most of the surviving Pequot were sold into slavery, though a handful escaped to join other southern New England tribes."
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pequot-massacres-begin
The basis for any holiday, even if it may differ from what we've been taught, is important and I don't denounce anyone for celebrating as they choose. Adding to the history of Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving seemed appropriate and interesting. Should you be offended in any way by all means, let me know what can or can't be said and when it can or can't be said.
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For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible."
Stuart Chase