In the US, Thanksgiving Day is a recognised national holiday, and in 2022 it falls on November 24. A fall harvest feast that the Wampanoag and Plymouth colonists had in 1621 is remembered today as being one of the first Thanksgiving festivities inside the colonies. Thanksgiving was observed by many colonies and states for more than 200 years. President Abraham Lincoln didn’t declare a nationwide Thanksgiving Day that would be celebrated each November until 1863, when the Civil War was still raging.
According to the legend, helpful Native Americans showed the hapless colonists how and where to survive the region that the Europeans called the “New World.” Then, in 1621, everyone gathered for a feast to commemorate the occasion.
The “first” American Thanksgiving would be celebrated 401 years from now on Thanksgiving in 2022. However, Thanksgiving feasts have existed long before Plymouth, and the day’s commemorated peace was shaky.
A small ship by the name of the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, England, in September 1620 with 102 people aboard. Among the passengers were a variety of religious separatists looking for a new place to live in which they could freely practise their religion and other people drawn to the “New World” by its promise of wealth and land ownership. They dropped anchor close to Cape Cod’s tip after a perilous and miserable 66-day journey that took them far from their intended location at the downstream of the River. The Pilgrims, as they are now referred to, started the process of creating a village at Plymouth one month after Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay.
Only fifty percent of the original Mayflower passengers and crew witnessed their first New England spring. The last of the settlers arrived on the shore in March, where they were hailed by a representative of the Abenaki tribe who spoke to them in English.
He returned a few days later with another Native American, Squanto, who was a Pawtuxet tribesman who had been captured by an English sea captain and turned into a slave before fleeing to London and making a second trip back to his native land as an explorer. Squanto instructed the Pilgrims on how to grow maize, get maple tree sap, fish catching in the rivers, and stay away from toxic plants as they were weakened by famine and illness. He also assisted the colonists in establishing a relationship with a local tribe known as the Wampanoag. This alliance lasted for more over 50 years and is still regarded as one of the few instances of peace among European colonists & Native Americans.
The three-day event is now recognised as the “first Thanksgiving” in American history, despite the fact that the Pilgrims themselves might not have coined the phrase at the time. Although there is no record of the specific food from the first Thanksgiving, much of what is known about what occurred there
In order to commemorate the end of a protracted drought that had jeopardised the year’s harvest and forced Governor Bradford to order a religious fast, the Pilgrims staged their 2nd Thanksgiving celebration in 1623. Other England settlements also adopted the custom of annual or sporadic days of fasting and thankfulness.
The first state to formally approve the annual Thanksgiving holiday was New York in 1817. The American South has been mostly ignorant of the tradition because it was observed on a distinct day in each state.
After that initial harvest, Europeans and Native Americans, including but not exclusively the Wampanoags, engaged in terrible battles. By taking Native territory and incarcerating, enslaving, and killing Native people, the Europeans paid back their Native allies.
The preparations and sharing of a sumptuous feast with loved ones now dominates Thanksgiving rituals in many American homes rather than the holiday’s historical religious significance. Turkey may or may not be served during the first Thanksgiving meal hosted by the Pilgrims in 1621. Since then, turkey has become such a staple of the celebration that it is now all but synonymous with it.
Today, however, the International Turkey Federation reports that around 90% of Americans consume the turkey on Thanksgiving, whether it be roasted, baked, or deep-fried. Stuffing, potato salad, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie are further typical dishes. Thanksgiving Day volunteering is a traditional tradition, and localities frequently arrange food drives and provide free meals to the less fortunate.
Unfortunately, many US schools just don’t educate Native American history appropriately, and occasionally they don’t even mention it. But the truth is, American history includes Native American history. Since November is International Native American Heritage Month, now is the ideal opportunity to educate yourself on the contributions that Native Americans have made to the development of our nation.Here is the additional consideration.
Native Americans are both a significant element of our nation’s past and current (and future). Native American civilization after 1900 is not covered in about 87% of national history standards, despite the fact that Native Americans have had a significant influence on modern US society. Consider the young Indigenous activists who also are battling for their communities, Joy Harjo, the first Native American great poet, and the unprecedented number of parliamentarians who are bringing Native participation to government.
Why Does It Matter?
We cannot base our knowledge of Native communities on false histories. Native people and issues are made less visible by the elimination of Native narratives and voices. We can better affirm the perspectives of Native communities and address the systemic problems that they have experienced (and continue to endure) as a result by understanding the real history of these events.
