The Truth About Thanksgiving
While Thanksgiving is often celebrated as a time of gratitude, family gatherings, and feasts, its origins are far more complex—and deeply tied to the painful history of violence and displacement experienced by Indigenous peoples in North America. The widely taught narrative of Thanksgiving, which centers around a peaceful feast between the Pilgrims and Native Americans in 1621, oversimplifies the true story and masks centuries of exploitation, brutality, and loss that Indigenous communities have endured since European colonization.
The Myth of the First Thanksgiving
The “First Thanksgiving,” as it is commonly portrayed, occurred in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1621. After a harsh first winter, the Pilgrims, struggling to survive, formed an alliance with the Wampanoag Nation. With the help of the Wampanoag people, who taught the Pilgrims how to grow crops and hunt local wildlife, the settlers celebrated a harvest feast in a brief moment of cooperation.
However, this gathering was not a harmonious, peaceful celebration as often depicted. The Wampanoag were not merely “helping” the Pilgrims—they were negotiating for their survival in a rapidly changing world, where their land and resources were being encroached upon by European settlers. It is also important to note that the relationship between the two groups was not one of lasting peace. Tensions would rise in the years following the 1621 feast, culminating in violent conflicts like King Philip’s War in 1675, during which thousands of Indigenous people were killed or displaced.
Colonization and Violence Against Indigenous People
Thanksgiving, as a national holiday, overlooks the atrocities that Indigenous peoples faced following European settlement. From the very beginning of European colonization, Indigenous populations were subjected to a system of violence, forced assimilation, and land theft.
The arrival of European settlers led to the spread of disease—smallpox, influenza, and other illnesses to which Native populations had no immunity—resulting in the deaths of an estimated 90% of the Indigenous people in some areas. This mass die-off made it easier for settlers to claim land and establish colonies, with little regard for the lives or rights of the people who had lived there for thousands of years.
As European settlement expanded, Indigenous peoples were pushed off their ancestral lands, often through violent means. From the early 1600s through the 1800s, policies of dispossession, forced relocation, and military conquest led to the destruction of entire nations of people. The infamous “Trail of Tears” in the 1830s, in which thousands of Cherokee and other tribes were forcibly removed from their homelands, is one of the most egregious examples of the United States’ systematic campaign of displacement.
Thanksgiving and the Legacy of Injustice
The official nationalization of Thanksgiving as a holiday came in 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November a day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” This proclamation occurred during the Civil War, but it also marks a period when the U.S. government was simultaneously engaged in efforts to assimilate and suppress Indigenous communities across the nation.
The government’s policies during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the forced removal of children from their families and placement in boarding schools designed to strip them of their cultural identity, compounded the damage caused by earlier waves of violence. For generations, Native children were forbidden to speak their languages or practice their traditions, and their cultural heritage was nearly lost.
A Call for Reflection
While Thanksgiving is seen by many as a time for family and community, it is crucial to reflect on the holiday’s darker history and recognize the ongoing impact of colonialism on Indigenous peoples today. Native communities continue to face systemic challenges related to poverty, health disparities, and the loss of their ancestral lands, struggles that stem directly from centuries of colonization, broken treaties, and violence.
For many Indigenous people, Thanksgiving is not a day of celebration, but a day of mourning and remembrance. “National Day of Mourning,” observed each year on Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts, is a time for Indigenous peoples to honor their ancestors and raise awareness of the ongoing effects of colonization.
As Americans gather around the table to give thanks, it is vital to acknowledge the painful history that underpins the holiday and to commit to supporting the rights, sovereignty, and dignity of Indigenous peoples. By doing so, we can move toward a more inclusive and just future, where the stories of Native peoples are told, respected, and valued.