Discussing The Need To Celebrate Thanksgiving Day With The Family

Introduction

Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated all over the United States, but what most people don’t know is that the history they get taught when they are in school is mostly fake or it lacks information. Luckily, in the present-day there is an increasing amount of people who are getting educated on the matter and realize how offensive it can be to celebrate this day.

Every year on the fourth Thursday in November, millions of people in the United States reunite with their families or friends to celebrate Thanksgiving. Americans have many common traditions for this day such as having the whole family together to prepare the feast and, when they eat the turkey, some families break the turkey’s wishbone as a part of their celebration, this consists of two people each taking one end of the bone, they make a wish and pull, and whoever ends up with the larger part of it gets their wish. Another tradition for this day is watching television, the most popular things to watch this day are parades and football games.

This holiday is not only celebrated in the United States, it is also consecrated in other countries, although, on different days—for example, Canada consecrates this day on the second Monday of October.

Even though this holiday may seem innocent and unoffensive, nowadays more and more people are labelling this celebration as offensive and racist due to its historical background, which is different from what Americans learn at school.

According to what it is generally told, in 1639, a ship labelled the Mayflower with 102 passengers aboard left Plymouth, England towards what they called “New World”. Between these individuals, there were religious separatists full of hope to find a place where they could freely practice their faith, and people who had been bribed by the promise of lands. After 66 days, this group of passengers arrived at Cape Cod, Massachusetts—far north from their intended destination: the Hudson River. And, a month later, the Mayflower went across the Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims—how these people are now known—settled a new village. After their first merciless winter, only half of the original travellers survived due to exposure, scurvy, and outbreaks of contagious disease.

In March 1631, colonists moved ashore, there, they were visited by an Abenaki Indian, who greeted them in English and a few days later came back with another Native American known as Squanto, who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain before him escaping to London and returning to his village in Massachusetts. Squanto was the man who taught the Pilgrims how to grow their own corn, extract sap from maple trees, how to fish and avoid poisonous plants. Not only did he teach them how to survive, but he also helped them forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe.

Following a successful harvest thanks to Squanto’s help, the settlers decided to hold a three-day feast and invited their Native American allies. Although this is what is usually told, there is no actual proof that can corroborate whether Native Americans were invited, as some people think they initially weren’t, but they passed by while the celebration was being held so the Pilgrims felt the need to call them. This ceremony is the one people refer to as “the first Thanksgiving”, but the colonists never really used that word, the feast was only held once and not on the fourth Thursday of November, but in between late September and mid-November. Another fun fact of this consecration is about the menu: it isn’t completely certain the Pilgrims had turkey—and if they did, it may have been wild turkey—, but there were a lot of things different from what people have nowadays, mostly seafood. And, while pumpkin pies are quite famous on this holiday on the present day, it would have been impossible the colonists had had it as they had no wheat flour, butter or an oven.

Though this is the regularly told story, there is even more historical background that people rarely talk about. Teachers never (or seldom) mention what occurred in 1637, while the Pequot War was being held.

In 1637, there was an ongoing war known as the “Pequot War” which was fought in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists of the Massachusetts Bay (the Pilgrims), Saybrook colonies and some Native Americans allies. This conflict began as a result of the settlers trying to colonize southern New England but failing due to the Pequot tribe. As the Native American tribe was showing resistance, Massachusetts’ governor ordered the murder of 700 Pequot people, including women and children. This was the first Native American mass murder, followed by many more for the following 200 years, only to take their land. After accomplishing the genocide, Massachusetts’ governor celebrated Thanksgiving officially for the first time to celebrate the mass murder.

In 1970, Wamsutta, an Aquinnah Wampanoag man, was asked to deliver a speech at a celebratory banquet for the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ landing, but when the Department of Commerce and Development read a copy of the speech he was intending to deliver, a representative told Wamsutta he would not be allowed to give his speech, as they thought it was out of place.

The reason they said it was out of place was because he wanted to tell the truth. Wamsutta had written a speech stating the real history of the Pilgrims, as they were not the first English-speaking colony in the United States. An earlier colony was Jamestown, and Native Americans claim that one of the reasons kids do not learn about it in school is because the circumstances surrounding this colony were ugly, as the settlers turned to cannibalism to survive. Another frequently told lie is about the Pilgrims seeking religious freedom, but the truth is they already had that, as they had already been to Holland before and there, they found it, but they went to the United States as a part of a commercial venture, according to members of UAINE (United American Indians of New England). The only reason the colonists could settle in Plymouth was because thousands of Native Americans had been killed by disease three years before these settlers arrived, and another part of them had been kidnapped by Europeans who had arrived on 1614 to get them into slavery. And one of the very first things the Pilgrims did when they arrived at Massachusetts was to steal Wampanoag graves and winter provisions. Despite all the bad things Europeans did as soon as they landed, Wampanoag people did nothing but help them, and all they got in return was genocide, theft of their lands and repression.

Organizers of the banquet told Wamsutta he could only deliver the speech they would provide to him, but he refused and, instead of speaking at the dinner, hundreds of Native people congregated in Plymouth, Massachusetts and held the first National Day of Mourning, which is usually referred to as “Anti-Thanksgiving”, as it is consecrated the same day as this holiday. On this day, Native Americans welcome non-Native supporters, although it is a day when only Indigenous people speak about their history and struggles.

2019’s National Day of Mourning was dedicated to missing and murdered indigenous women, and to relatives who are migrants and are abused by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and other federal agencies.

Now, as Wamsutta couldn’t deliver his speech, members of the UAINE have posted it to their website where everyone can access and read it. Here is a short part of the speech he would have delivered:

This is a time of celebration for you - celebrating an anniversary of a beginning for the white man in America. A time of looking back, of reflection. It is with a heavy heart that I look back upon what happened to my People. Even before the Pilgrims landed it was common practice for explorers to capture Indians, take them to Europe and sell them as slaves for 220 shillings apiece. The Pilgrims had hardly explored the shores of Cape Cod for four days before they had robbed the graves of my ancestors and stolen their corn and beans.

As more people are coming forward to enlighten about why is it unethical to celebrate Thanksgiving, non-indigenous people are trying to defend themselves giving arguments of why is it ok to consecrate this day, putting as example the positive messages from the “first Thanksgiving” in 1621: helping each other, being together, etc. But by making up excuses and trying to make themselves trying to feel good, it ignores the way colonists mistreated Native Americans by stealing land, robbing their provisions or mass murdering them. And not only does it overlook Native Americans’ past mistreatment, but the way they are being mistreated now, as people often try to censor them while they keep appropriating indigenous culture in school by dressing up as Pilgrims and Indians to reenact “the first Thanksgiving”.

It is true that it isn’t wrong to celebrate a day to reflect on good things in life and spend some time with our relatives because, as we know, other countries also consecrate Thanksgiving. The issue with American Thanksgiving is its historical background and how non-Native American citizens and authorities try to erase the truth of it while telling little kids a fairytale, instead of educating them with the real history.

So, what should we do? Firstly, we should educate ourselves with the true history between the Pilgrims and Native Americans, learn more about indigenous culture, their regular struggles and show our support to them. Our way to being more supportive is acting, such as refusing to allow people to dress up as “Indians” for events instead of just ignoring it. Another thing we can do is learn to differentiate the celebration from the origin of it.

In conclusion, as the truth behind the history of Pilgrims and Native Americans is progressively being told, it would be right-minded if people would get more educated on this matter and truly know why this could be offensive for a lot of Native Americans instead of hiding behind of what they get told in school or throughout their lives, most of it being fake or lacking lots of information. Nevertheless, it is not enough knowing about the truth of this holiday’s historical background: it is important we actively support Native Americans by helping them have a voice and not overlooking the racism they receive.