In elementary schools across the country, children trace their hands to make turkeys and learn about the first Thanksgiving. They’re told that after the Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to survive here, the Pilgrims invited the natives to a feast of turkey and that season’s harvest, where they made peace with each other and had a jolly good time. Unfortunately, that story isn’t true.
The Pilgrims, who called themselves “separatists,” came from Holland, where they first settled in the early 17th century, to America. Children are commonly taught that the Pilgrims came here for religious freedom, but they already had that in Holland. They came to America to make money from the land’s untapped resources.
When they arrived in what we now call Massachusetts, they settled in an already-built village that had no inhabitants but the corpses of natives who died from plague. After Plymouth was established, the Wampanoag chief paramount, Massasoit, made an alliance with the Pilgrims and helped them fight off the French and other native tribes.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that the Native Americans were invited to the Thanksgiving feast. The Pilgrims had a successful harvest in 1621 and had a celebration for it. Members of the Wampanoag tribe were arriving at Plymouth to honour a mutual defence agreement between them and the Pilgrims and heard guns firing. They feared the Pilgrims were in combat, but it turned out they were simply shooting in celebration. After speaking for a while with the Pilgrims, the Wampanoag were allowed to stay for the remainder of the feast. Speaking of the feast; There was no mention in any primary sources of turkey being served. Historians agree that it was most likely wild fowl – such as duck, goose, or turkey – and the crops of that year’s harvest, which would not have included any kind of potatoes.
Many people now gather on Thanksgiving to grieve for the natives that were killed and faced injustice, and they urge others to learn the true history of Thanksgiving, as you just have.
Read more about Thanksgiving:
The Real History of Thanksgiving Is Darker Than You Learned in School
History of Thanksgiving: How to tell the true story to kids
The Real History Of Thanksgiving Can Be Painful For Many Native Americans