Thanksgiving, what excatly is it and what does it mean?

In September 1620.

a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers – an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice thier faith and other individuals lured by promise of prosperity and land ownership in the “new World.”

After a treacherous and unconfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, the dropped anchor near the tip of cap Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the mayflower crossed Massachussetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as the are now commonly know, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth

The first Thanksgiving, as I mentioned beforehand, and as folks understand it, was in 1621 between the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and the Wampanoag tribe in present-day Massachusetts. While records indicate that this celebration did happen, there are a few misconceptions we need to clear up. Becuase of the erasure (in words, removal and exclusion) of native American narratives from histories a lot of us were taught, we’ve been left with an incomplete picture of what really happend. So here’s the full story.

*There’s no evidence that the Wampanoag people were even invited in the first place. An Account from the time said 90 members of the Wampanoag tribe were present and makes no mention of invitations. Some experts believe that these 90 men were an army, sent by Wampanoag leader Quasemquin at the sound of gunshots. (which turned out to be a part of the celebration)

* In the first encounter with the Wampanoag people, the Pilgrims stole from the tribe’s winter provisions – it wasn’t untillater that Quasemquin formed an alliance between the groups. Even then, the alliance really only existed because the Wampanoag people were ravaged by diseases brought by European colonizers in the years prior. It was less about intercultural harmony and more about survival (made necessary by the actions of these settlers).

*That first harvest was followed by deadly conflicts between colonizers and Native people, including (but definitely not limited to) the Wampanoags.

The Europeans repaid their Native allies by seizing Native land and imprisioning, ensalving, and executing Native people.

*Following *Thanksgiving” celebrations by European settlers often marked brutal victories over Native people, like the Pequet Massacre of 1636 or the beheading of Wampanoag leader Metacom in 1676.

WHEN DID AMERICA FIRST CALL FOR A NATIONAL THANKSGIVING?

America first called for a national thanksgiving to celebrate victory over the British in the battle of Saratoga. In 1789, George Washington again called for national day of thanks on the last Thirsday of November 1777 to commemorate the end of the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the Constitution. And during the Civil War, both the Confederacy and the Unino issued Thanksgiving Day proclamations following major victories.