To read more of the First Nations article, please click here, Understanding Thanksgiving from Our Side of the Table | First Nations Development Institute.
Most historians document that in 1621 there was indeed a First Thanksgiving but Native people were not invited guests to this celebration. Nonetheless, Wampanoag soldiers showed up to the Pilgrim celebration after hearing celebratory gunshots and screams from Pilgrim settlements. The Wampanoag soldiers, historians suggest, thought the pilgrims were under attack and showed up as part of a diplomatic treaty of mutual defense between the Wampanoag nation and Pilgrims.
Beyond the first Thanksgiving, Standing Rock historian and Harvard Professor Philp Deloria notes that Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November as a national holiday in 1863 as a means to heal from the Civil War. It wasn’t until after the formation of the United States that narratives of a harmonious celebration between Pilgrims and Wampanoag were created to justify westward expansion and “manifest destiny.” And we know today that this westward expansion led to the theft of Native land, devastated Native languages, cultural practices, food systems and much more.
But Native nations are still here. Native people are strong and resilient. They are developing and leading efforts to improve their local communities and economies.
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