Going back to the earliest history of the United States, Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated every November. However, the actual history behind the holiday of Thanksgiving is one often overlooked, barely acknowledged or simply forgotten.
Thanksgiving began as a celebratory feast during November of 1620, taking place in the Plymouth pilgrim colony. The feast honors the survival of the pilgrims in the new land they had taken over. The story goes that the pilgrims and current native people then got together for a large feast.
Sounds genuine, right?
In reality, Thanksgiving started with the Wampanoag tribe allying with the current English settlers in Plymouth. However, the tension came from the Wampanoag separating themselves from the other local tribes as well as large world influences at the time, creating a conflict. The alliance soon dissolved.
Over time, war between the original Wampanoag tribe and the Confederation erupted. In the end, approximately 30% of the Englishmen were murdered and over half of the Native Americans were slaughtered in the war. But how does this relate to the now 2020’s? There isn’t a way to reverse the history but there is necessary mending needed to be done with the Native Americans of the United States.
American history enthusiast Samuel Charza described the situation between the Native Americans and the early Americans. “Thanksgiving was for all but giving thanks back to the Native Americans. We would not have survived this new land without the knowledge of the Native Americans and we did everything but repay them, he said”
The US has consistently made this mistake of ostracizing people different from what society deems the norm. From the enslavement of Black people centuries ago to the abuse and prejudice against them now in 2021, the resurgence of conflict caused by the past and current treatment of different groups of people is a significant issue for change.
In order to begin the process of changing the course of history as well as healing the broken bonds between the US and Indigenous people, it is undoubtedly necessary to recognize and acknowledge that these events did in fact happen. While a complete mending may not be possible at this point in time, an apology and persistent attempts for reconciliation are essential for making amends with the indigenous people whom we’ve consistently mistreated.
An article about the topic from Insider said it perfectly, “It’s time to reevaluate the meaning and celebration of the holiday.”
