[Ruth Hopkins, a Dakota/Lakota Sioux writer, biologist, attorney,
and former tribal judge, breaks down the myths and facts about
Thanksgiving and early encounters between Pilgrims and the Wampanoag.
] [[link removed]]


THE FIRST THANKSGIVING: SEPARATING MYTH FROM FACT  
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Ruth Hopkins
November 11, 2020
Teen Vogue
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_ Ruth Hopkins, a Dakota/Lakota Sioux writer, biologist, attorney,
and former tribal judge, breaks down the myths and facts about
Thanksgiving and early encounters between Pilgrims and the Wampanoag.
_

, Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

 

Here in the United States, we’ve all heard the legendary tale of the
first Thanksgiving, when Pilgrims dined with Natives in celebration of
a bountiful harvest.

It all started in November 1620
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when a group of 102 English religious separatists known as Pilgrims,
joined by unaffiliated commercial entrepreneurs, arrived on the shores
of North America in a ship called the _Mayflower_, at present-day
Cape Cod. They’d planned to settle in Virginia but were blown 500
miles off course.

Unfortunately, like much of U.S. history, the narrative surrounding
the landing of the _Mayflower_, and what happened to the English
settlers on board, has been whitewashed, diluted, or just plain
fabricated.

On the 400th anniversary of that fabled landing at Plymouth Rock,
let’s delve into the reality of this famous event by sorting myth
from fact.

Myth

When the _Mayflower_ arrived at Plymouth Rock, the landscape was
devoid of human civilization.

Fact

William Bradford, leader of the voyage, declared
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discovered the era “unpeopled,” but when the Pilgrims landed,
Darius Coombs, codirector of the Plimouth Plantation, says there were
some 70 Wampanoag communities in the area and an estimated 100,000
Tribal members whose ancestors had been living there for at
least 12,000 years
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European trade ships had already been visiting the region for 100
years before the _Mayflower_ sailed, but the Pilgrims were the first
who attempted to stay. In truth, upon disembarking, the Pilgrims were
met with cleared fields and fresh water. The Wampanoag had moved to
winter camp, but the Pilgrims were aware of ongoing Indigenous
occupation because they dug up and used some of the Wampanoag’s food
stores.

Myth

Pilgrims took pity on Indigenous people and fed them.

Fact

The Pilgrims had no idea how to survive in the new land. They would
have starved
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during the severe 1620–21 winter if it weren’t for the Wampanoag.
They shared their provisions with the colonists and taught them how to
hunt, fish, farm, and preserve food in their new environment.

As Wampanoag Nanepashemet
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have lived with this land for thousands of generations — fishing in
the waters, planting, and harvesting crops, hunting the four-legged
and winged beings and giving respect and thanks for each and
everything taken for our use. We were originally taught to use many
resources, remembering to use them with care, respect, and with a mind
towards preserving some for the seven generations of unborn, and not
to waste anything.”

Myth

Thanksgiving was the name of the harvest feast Pilgrims and Indigenous
people shared.

Fact

While Pilgrims did share a meal with the Wampanoag people, it
wouldn’t have been possible without their Native teachers, and it
wasn’t called Thanksgiving, either. Harvest feasts were a tradition
that Natives had observed for time immemorial
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so it is Native generosity that is the basis for the Americanized idea
of Turkey Day. The origins of the holiday’s modern name are actually
quite grisly. Pilgrims and other European invaders warred with the
Wampanoag and other local Tribes after they settled in. An official
“day of Thanksgiving kept in all the churches for our victories
against the Pequots” was proclaimed
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Massachusetts Bay governor William Bradford in 1637, and it was meant
to memorialize the slaughter of about 700 Pequot men, women, and
children.

Myth

The Indigenous people who interacted with Pilgrims are extinct.

Fact

The Mashpee Wampanoag
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the Pilgrims were subjected to centuries of disease, starvation, and
war, but they survived. They still inhabit Massachusetts and eastern
Rhode Island, are a federally recognized Tribe, and have about 2,600
citizens.

Myth

The Indigenous people who helped the Pilgrims aren’t being oppressed
anymore.

Fact

In spring 2020, just as the Mashpee Wampanoag were getting hit with
the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration moved to disestablish
their Reservation
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threatening their very existence. A federal judge found
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Trump administration’s decision “arbitrary and capricious” and
ordered them to reconsider. In July, the U.S. House of Representatives
passed H.R. 7608
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It is an appropriations bill, but it includes an amendment that would
stop the Interior Department from taking the Mashpee Wampanoag’s
land. The legislation now awaits a Senate vote.

The Wampanoag are also seeking the return of the wampum belt
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Metacom, one of their 17th-century chiefs. When he was killed in the
1670s, his belt was sent to King Charles II as a spoil of war. To the
Wampanoag, the wampum belt is comparable to the crown jewels. Wampum
is comprised of purple and white shells from whelks and quahog and
plays a crucial role in the Tribe’s culture. According to
the _Washington Post_, the whereabouts of Metacom’s belt is
currently not known.

Myth

While colonization was an ugly chapter in American history, it’s
over now.

Fact

Tribes in the United States are still dealing with the fallout of
colonization, including the same Indigenous groups that helped the
people survive.

As Malcolm X said
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the Black experience in the United States, “We didn’t land on
Plymouth Rock. The rock was landed on us.”

On Thanksgiving Day 1970, the 350th anniversary of
the _Mayflower_ landing, Natives took back Plymouth Rock. Frank
James
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Wampanoag, gave a speech that discussed the suffering his people had
endured after the arrival of the Pilgrims, and said that while many
consider it a day of celebration, to this country’s Indigenous, it
was a day of mourning. He then led a protest on Cole’s Hill near
Plymouth Rock, close to a replica of the _Mayflower_ and a statue of
the Wampanoag leader Massasoit. American Indian Movement (AIM) leader
Russell Means
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spoke, and other AIM members
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a replica of the _Mayflower_ and later buried Plymouth Rock in dirt
and refuse. That night, another AIM leader, John Trudell, returned and
painted it red.

Since then, Natives and their allies continue to gather on Cole’s
Hill in Plymouth on Thanksgiving Day to commemorate a National Day of
Mourning [[link removed]]. To many Natives in the United
States, Thanksgiving is a reminder of the genocide of millions of the
Indigenous ancestors and the theft of our lands because of
colonialism. It’s become a way to honor our dead as well as protest
the continuing racism and tyranny that we are being subjected to even
now. There are still Natives who host family meals during this season,
but that is because we’ve always held harvest feasts, long before
the Pilgrims’ arrival.

Tribes are still under attack today. Natives live with historical
trauma, crushing poverty on Reservations, a lack of adequate health
care
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racism, police brutality, voter suppression, little
representation, an epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women
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and toxic pipelines being forced through our lands
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among other pressing issues. We are still fighting for our Treaties
to be honored
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for our human rights, and for our survival.

Perhaps the holiday, like this country, can be salvaged. We
shouldn’t celebrate genocide, but we can honor those who were
killed, elevate Native voices, and embrace that spirit of generosity
that Indigenous people shared with the Pilgrims. We can feed the
hungry and shelter the houseless, and fund and advocate for Native
causes and organizations. We can use this day to teach history, rather
than hide it. Instead of forcing schoolchildren to partake in
embarrassing Thanksgiving plays based on ugly stereotypes and colonial
fiction, Native speakers and historians can come and educate them
about Native culture. We can make this world what we want it to be.
Create a more perfect union.

_This article is part of_ In Session: The Teen Vogue Lesson
Plan. _Find the full lesson plan_ _here_
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* Thanksgiving
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* myths
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* truth
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