With Thanksgiving approaching quickly, many students are both mentally preparing for all of the political discussion at the Thanksgiving dinner table and physically conditioning for the huge meal they’ll devour.
It’s a holiday that brings families together for an evening of, you guessed it, giving thanks. A tradition that has been practiced by millions of Americans over the years; yet, many may fail to ask themselves, how did this national holiday come to be?
You may be hard-pressed to find that the origins of Thanksgiving don’t include a peaceful dinner between white colonizers and American Indians — but rather the erasure of the Native American culture and peoples by these European absolutists.
According to an article titled, “The True Story of Thanksgiving” by Richard Greener for The Huffington Post, the Thanksgiving “tradition” began in the year 1637. However, the first Thanksgiving was not celebrated like the Thanksgiving we have today. The reason why Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1637 was because John Winthrop, the Massachusetts Colony Governor at the time, wanted to throw a Thanksgiving celebration to celebrate the return of a group of armed hunters.
These hunters were coming back from a journey to what is now called Mystic, Connecticut. In this journey, they slaughtered over 700 Native Americans from the Pequot tribe. Men, women and children were included in the massacre.
While the holiday represents a joyous time for some, it is a day of mourning and grief for many Native Americans. For example, members of the United American Indians organization visit the historical landmark, Plymouth Rock, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. They gather around the statue of the head Chief of the Wampanoag tribe and honor the life of the fallen Pequot.
These Native Americans do not refer to this day as “Thanksgiving” like the majority of non-natives do.
It’s a depressing reality: while some non-natives are celebrating with their family and being “thankful” for something like living the “American” dream, American Indians are mourning the loss of their land and the massacre of their people.
For Native Americans, the month of November isn’t a time to prepare for a Thanksgiving feast but rather a time to acknowledge their heritage.
The month of November is Native American Heritage Month — a time to learn about, celebrate and acknowledge the important contributions that the Native American culture has had on this country.
Widespread knowledge of Native American history is necessary to prevent history from being repeated. However, as we’ve witnessed the Sioux nation ardently defend their land from the Dakota Access Pipeline being built across sacred tribal lands, perhaps it’s already too late.
The fact that this type of information is left out of the education of American children is a disservice. They are being lied to and deserve to know the truth no matter how old they are. It is important information that is a part of this country’s history and should not be omitted from a child’s education.
As reported by the Ancient Wisdom Foundation’s website, an organization whose mission statement is “to encourage and foster research, investment and the practical application of ancient wisdom in a modern context,” the total death toll of American Indians after European contact has been approximated to be at around 100 million from the time of Columbus’ arrival to the end of the Indian Wars hundreds of years later.
It’s far-fetched to ever think that non-Native Americans will someday refrain from celebrating the national holiday anytime soon, even with this provided information. However, I do wish Americans would take this historical evidence into account. It’s necessary for the U.S. population to truly understand the history behind, not only holidays like Thanksgiving, but the colonial history of the nation in general.
I believe that Thanksgiving should not be honored if it means celebrating the massacre of millions of Native Americans. This day symbolizes the decimation of Native American tribes.
As reported by an articled titled, “Two sides of Thanksgiving History” for website Indians.org, “Thanksgiving to the Native American Indians may not mean the same thing that it did to the white settlers in American History. To the Indians, Thanksgiving would mean a totally different thing. This was the beginning of their end – a time where they had given up their land in return for gifts that were full of disease – which would kill many of them later down the road.”
The colonial origins of the United States were gruesome times for Native Americans. It was a time of horror, sadness and bloodshed.
This is the reason why I believe Thanksgiving is not worthy of being a nationwide celebration anymore. It’s roots are seeded in the genocide of a people — there’s nothing to be thankful about.