Reconciling the Origins of Thanksgiving

This week millions of people gather across the country to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Maybe you celebrate with family or do a “Friendsgiving.” Maybe you have mac and cheese on your table, or include lasagna every year. The traditions are as varied as the families that celebrate them. (My family eats pie for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. Yes, before the afternoon feast. We are visionaries.)

While many people in the U.S. celebrate this modern version of Thanksgiving — one that centers family and friends, giving thanks for all that we have, and cooking and consuming delicious foods — the origins of this national holiday are complex and varied, and deserve a piece of the reflection time this holiday often brings.

First, it’s pretty widely understood that there was never one perfect meal where a beautiful roasted turkey was shared peacefully by the Pilgrims and Native Americans. There is evidence that a meal was held by the Pilgrims in 1621 to celebrate a successful harvest, and that members of the Wampanoag tribe were there. This meal is often credited as the “First Thanksgiving.” Another contender for the original meal, however, is the celebratory feast hosted by the colonists in 1637 after members of the Massachusetts Bay Colony massacred 700 Pequot tribe members and kicked off the Pequot wars, which resulted in the almost complete extermination of the tribe. These two events are the origins of that “coming together” myth — and since one of those stories is actually about a massacre, it is clear that there are some things we should reflect on as a country when we celebrate this day.

The modern iteration of Thanksgiving can be credited to President Abraham Lincoln, and to the woman who lobbied him tirelessly to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale. In 1863, Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November a national holiday — partially in service of healing the country by bringing together family members who had been on opposite sides of the Civil War. In 1939, Franklin Roosevelt moved the holiday to the third Thursday in November in order to create a longer holiday shopping season as the country continued its recovery from the Great Depression.

For many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day that memorializes the 1637 massacre of the Pequot tribe and is honored as a day of mourning. The National Day of Mourning was started in 1970 in Plymouth, MA, by Wamsutta Frank James to “honor Native ancestors and the struggles of native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience.”

So, now we have some context on where this holiday came from, and the ways that some Native Americans acknowledge and mourn the loss of their ancestors on this day. Can we still enjoy Thanksgiving knowing about it’s complex and bloody history?

Yes. But we must do so while being educated, sensitive, and proactive. How does one do that?

• Continue to educate yourself on the origins or repercussions of the “First Thanksgiving.” Read the articles linked above, and seek out other resources. Learn from Native American people about this day, and follow their lead when it comes to educating yourself about decolonizing Thanksgiving myths. Explore the ongoing consequences of the colonial attempted extermination of Native peoples, and how that perpetuates today, even in foods we eat.
• Take steps to educate the young people in your life better than you were educated about Thanksgiving. You don’t have to sit back and let your kid be a part of a dated, inaccurate, and offensive Thanksgiving curriculum.
• Remember that ending widespread racism and homophobia can start at your Thanksgiving table. Prepare to be an ally to someone who may need it over the holidays, and don’t shy away from difficult discussions with your own family. A little pre-reading can help you navigate challenging situations that may arise.
• November is Native American Heritage Month, and in 2009, President Barack Obama officially named the day after Thanksgiving National American Indian Heritage Day. Take the time to observe this day to acknowledge “the rich culture, tradition, and history of Native Americans and their status today, and to appreciate the contributions that First Americans have made and will continue to make to our Nation.”

If you are new to understanding the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday, this week is a great time to start your education. Incorporate some of the things you learn into the way you give thanks for what you have, and set your intentions to be a part of creating an even better world for all of us to celebrate next year.

For more information about our organization, or to make a donation, please visit our website. Pantsuit Nation is proud to be a project of Hopewell Fund.