Every November, standard American iconography presents a comforting scene: English Pilgrims and Wampanoag tribal members sitting down to a peaceful harvest feast in 1621.
However, for many Native Americans, this national mythology masks a legacy of colonization, disease and dispossession.
The popular story of the “First Thanksgiving” frames the interaction as an idyllic moment of cultural exchange.
Yet historical records and Indigenous scholars emphasize that the 1621 gathering was primarily a strategic political alliance, not a harmonious cultural merger.
According to historical accounts from the Plymouth Plantation, Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag formed a pact with the settlers out of geopolitical necessity following a devastating epidemic—likely smallpox or leptospirosis brought by earlier European traders—that had decimated nearly 90% of the coastal Patuxet population between 1616 and 1619.
Rather than a permanent peace, the 1621 meeting was followed by decades of rapid expansion, violence, and forced removal.
By 1637, following the Pequot War, Governor John Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony proclaimed an official “day of thanksgiving” to celebrate the massacre of over 700 Pequot men, women, and children along the Mystic River—a grim reminder that early proclamations of “thanksgiving” were frequently tied to military victories over Indigenous populations.
To honor this history without whitewashing it, the United American Indians of New England (UAINE) established the National Day of Mourning in 1970.
Held annually on Thanksgiving Day at Cole’s Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the event serves as a solemn rally to educate the public about the historical trauma, ongoing land loss, and structural inequalities facing Native communities today.
“We do not observe Thanksgiving as a day of celebration,” states UAINE in its educational mission.
“To us, Thanksgiving is a day of remembrance and a day of spiritual connection, as well as a protest against the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to suffer.”
Recognizing the harm of sanitized history, educators and cultural institutions are increasingly shifting the narrative toward truth-telling and historical accuracy. Organizations like the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), part of the Smithsonian Institution, have launched educational initiatives such as Native Knowledge 360°.
This curriculum encourages schools to move past construction-paper headdresses and simplified folklore, highlighting instead the sovereign tribal nations that existed long before 1620 and continue to thrive today.
Rethinking Thanksgiving does not mean discarding values of gratitude, community, and family gatherings.
Instead, Indigenous leaders urge Americans to expand those values to include historical honesty.
By listening to Native perspectives, acknowledging the land’s history, and supporting contemporary Indigenous rights, the holiday can evolve from a romanticized myth into an opportunity for genuine reflection and repair.
