The Colonial History of Thanksgiving Doesn’t Mean You Should Boycott It
Yes, this holiday has colonial history. Know it — but don’t let it stop you from celebrating gratitude
Why should you read another post about the importance of gratitude on Thanksgiving?
One reason is to acknowledge the complex history behind this holiday — all the while, remaining focused on gratitude.
Thanksgiving has difficult origins. Along with reminding us to feel thankful for what the year brought and providing an occasion to meet family, it’s a painful reminder of the colonial roots of the United States.
Depending on which source you consult, you’ll find a different history of Thanksgiving. For example, Britannica says that “Americans generally believe that their Thanksgiving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people.” The rest of the article makes is sound as though it was a peaceful celebration of the two nations coming together.
But go to the Native Hope blog and you won’t escape the hard truth of history. You’ll be reminded that the 17th century in America was anything but a peaceful era of European settlers learning to coexist with First Nations. Rather, it was a time of violence, genocide, and exploitation of Native Americans.
That’s why — instead of Thanksgiving — many people in the US now call the fourth Thursday in November the National Day of Mourning. November is also celebrated as the National Native American Heritage month.
The history behind Thanksgiving needs to be acknowledged and honored. But this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t connect with gratitude at this time of the year.
Quite the opposite.
Gratitude is a Native American way of life
Some Native Americans reject Thanksgiving as a symbol of oppression. But many choose to celebrate it. As the Native Hope blog says, they “embrace the positive messages of the day and choose to put aside thoughts about its complex history. This is because the idea of giving thanks is central to Native heritage and culture.”
Native Americans — just like all people with a strong connection to the land — naturally incorporated gratitude rituals into their culture. A lot of it has to do with giving thanks for the abundance of the Earth and expressing reverence for natural forces.
Long before the arrival of the colonizers, many American tribes celebrated the autumn harvest and gave thanks for the year’s crop. There are reasons to believe that these were the original roots of modern Thanksgiving. Even during that famous 1621 feast of settlers and Native Americans, it was the Wampanoag tribe who provided the food — as well as teachings on agriculture and hunting in their land.
The gratitude modeled by the Wampanoag was an expression of giving and sharing without expecting anything in return. This is present in today’s views many Native Americans hold towards Thanksgiving. Of course, they want the history to be acknowledged. But at the same time, they encourage celebrating Thanksgiving and using it as an opportunity for people to come together.
Here’s what Steven Peters, a Wampanoag Tribe spokesman, said when asked how he feels about people marking Thanksgiving with a traditional turkey meal:
“I think it’s great. My ancestors had 4 harvest festivals throughout the year. Gathering with family, enjoying our company, sharing our blessings and giving thanks for all that we have is a good thing. I say have more thanksgiving events throughout the year. I also ask that you take a moment in that day to remember what happened to my people and the history as it was recorded and not the narrative that we had been given in the history books.”
The common denominator of humanity
Peters’ statement makes two important points. First, we need to acknowledge the marginalized narratives to have a fuller understanding of where our customs and culture come from. Second — we should “have more thanksgiving events throughout the year”!
With that last point comes the acknowledgement that gratitude is a desired and healthy state for humans. Hence, we should encourage it more. There’s a big body of research on the collective and individual benefits of feeling thankful. But some scientists go even a step further. Rather than seeing it as a “nice-to-have” benefit, they believe gratitude is the prerequisite to human society.
Summer Allen, Ph.D., with the University of Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, points at the evolutionary roots of gratitude. She suggests that it allows us to create stronger relationships and social networks that ultimately help us survive.
Allen says this can be observed not just in humans:
“Animals as diverse as fish, birds, and vampire bats engage in “reciprocal altruism” activities — behaviors that one animal performs to help another member of their species, even at a cost to themselves, presumably because they recognize at some instinctual level that the other individual may repay the favor at a later date. Many scientists see this desire to repay generosity as an expression of gratitude. In fact, some scientists suggest that gratitude may have evolved as a mechanism to drive this reciprocal altruism, thereby turning strangers into friends and allies who are more likely to help one another.”
Gratitude is as common in the animal kingdom as it is across human cultures. One clear example are world’s biggest religions. As much as there are distinct differences between them, practicing gratitude has an important place in almost any spiritual tradition.
In her presentation at the UN Commission for the Study of Women (CSW) Interfaith Service of Remembrance and Gratitude in March 2023, Audrey E. Kitagawa noticed that “in religious cultures, giving thanks is not a superficial statement — it is carefully offered and demonstrated in specific actions.” Gratitude has been ritualized by many traditions, not just Native American ones. This suggests that it’s always been an important — and universal — element of spiritual growth.
And so, in Islam, people practice Ramadan — a month of fasting and charity, focused specifically on connecting with gratitude and not taking things for granted. Hakarat hatov — gratitude to others for favors and help extended to one — is one of the foundational elements of Jewish people’s relationship with the creator. In Buddhism, gratefulness is connected to integrity, and is taught as something to practice regardless of your life circumstances. The Bible continually refers to thanksgiving and gratitude as virtues that help get closer to God.
The list could go on and on, but you get the point: gratitude is universal. It supports human survival and growth, regardless of religion, class, and whether your ethnic group was favored by history.
The history of Thanksgiving is complicated, that’s for sure. It calls for justice in terms of correcting the mainstream narrative to reflect the harm brought upon the Native American cultures. This is one consideration.
A separate one is that Thanksgiving is very much worth celebrating. Here’s one simple way to connect to gratitude this holiday season.
How to practice gratitude without the gratitude journal
We all know the advice populating self-help books and blogs. They tell you to keep a gratitude journal, express gratitude to your friends and family, exchange compliments, and so on.
It’s all the stuff we know we should be doing. But somehow, we keep slipping up. It’s hard to keep the consistent habit without feeling like you’re adding one more thing to your to-do list.
Don’t get me wrong — gratitude habits are great. Gratitude journaling has a lot of documented benefits. At the same time, there are other ways to practice thankfulness. If you don’t have the capacity to take on one more commitment this holiday season — maybe you should use those.
The bottom line is this: don’t turn gratitude into another chore.
Instead, you can connect to gratitude more spontaneously and in the moment. You don’t always have to list the “things you’re grateful for.” You can simply connect to the feeling of abundance.
Notice that here, in this moment, you have enough. You have everything you need to grow and thrive.
Gratitude means noticing what you have more often than putting your attention on what’s missing. It’s as simple as that. Don’t overcomplicate it.
Lastly, remember the far-reaching impact of your gratitude. Monk and author Brother David Steindl-Rast put it best:
“If you’re grateful, you’re not fearful. And if you’re not fearful, you’re not violent.”
We need more gratitude and less violence in this world. Let the ripple start with you.
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