When people think of Thanksgiving, they often picture pilgrims and Native Americans sitting and eating food together. People are taught young that the interactions between the pilgrims and Native Americans were friendly. Pilgrims are painted as fearless leaders, while Native Americans are seen as supporters who helped guide the pilgrims through the ‘newly discovered’ land. All of these images appear positive, but is that all there is to this story? Unfortunately, there are many aspects of history textbooks do not mention about the “First Thanksgiving”.
The story begins with the Patuxet, one of the many tribes that formed the Wampanoag Confederacy. The Patuxets lived in what is now Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts. One of the members of this tribe was Tisquantum, also known as Squanto. Tisquantum lived harmoniously with the Patuxet tribe, often holding harvest festivals and ceremonies to strengthen bonds within the community. However, this peaceful life would not last.
In 1614, a slave-trader captured Tisquantum and other Patuxets and sold them to slavery in Spain. With the help from Monks, Tisquantum was able to escape and fled to England in 1615. In England, he worked for shipbuilder John Slany and was able to learn English. When Tisquantum returned to North America in 1619, he was expecting a warm welcome. But when he arrived at his village, no one was there. During the years he was away, the Patuxets were being decimated by plagues brought over by the English. By the time Tisquantum returned home, he was the only remaining person left in his tribe.
One year later, English colonists arrived at the Patuxet village, and quickly established the Plymouth Plantation. Despite their takeover of the land, the pilgrims were struggling to survive. Within the first year, half of the pilgrims died. The remaining pilgrims could not find food and only survived by eating corn in abandoned fields and raiding nearby villages.
The leader of Wampanoag Confederacy, Massasoit, saw how badly the English settlers were struggling and wanted to help them. However, he was also aware of the destruction they caused to the Patuxet and other Native American tribes. After many observations, negotiations, and exchanges, Massasoit decided to assist the English settlers. Massasoit used Tisquantum as a translator between the settlers. With the English Tisquantum learned during his time in England, Tisquantum was able to communicate with the settlers and teach them how to survive. He showed the English settlers how to plant corn by using fish as fertilizer and how to plant gourds around corn so that the vines could climb the cornstalks.
With the help of Tisquantum, the English settlers were able to thrive. To celebrate their successful harvest in the fall of 1621, the pilgrims sent gunshots in the air. Massasoit heard these shots and thought the pilgrims were preparing for battle. He sent warriors to prepare for battle, but luckily the Native Americans and pilgrims were able to settle their misunderstandings. Instead of fighting, the pilgrims invited Massasoit to a harvest feast of thanksgiving. This feast resembled the harvest festivals the Patuxet previously hosted. Massasoit arrived with 90 warriors and brought a variety of foods including venison, wild fowl, fish, squash, and maple syrup. The three-day-long harvest feast was named by the English settlers as the “First Thanksgiving”.
When looking at the whole story, it is clear to see how the Native American perspective has been forgotten. No one remembers that the Patuxets held the first harvest festivals, not the English settlers. No one remembers the destruction and violence the English colonists committed against Tisquantum and the Patuxet tribe. No one remembers how much the Native Americans supported the settlers and helped them survive their first years on New Plymouth. Instead of highlighting the impact Native Americans had on the colonists, the English settlers took credit for all that the Native Americans did. The English glazed over the harm they inflicted on the Patuxets and instead painted themselves as saviors who single-handedly brought the colonists and Native Americans together.
During the last few days of Native American Heritage Month, it is especially important to remember how the Indigenous peoples’ support and lives laid the foundation of our nation. While we see Thanksgiving as a happy celebration filled with food and laughter, Native Americans consider Thanksgiving as a day of mourning to grieve the oppression the Native Americans faced at the hands of English settlers. It is more important than ever to listen to the Native American perspective that has been forgotten for centuries.
