History buffs may have mixed vibes celebrating Thanksgiving
If you know the history of Native Americans and Thanksgiving, this dark holiday is less about family
Every year without fail, my group of family members and friends would head downtown to Navy Pier or the Taste of Chicago to enjoy the fireworks and celebrate the Fourth of July. And I’m not altogether sure when it happened, but someone brought abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s 1852 keynote address about Independence Day to my attention.
“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” was orated on July 5. And it made me wonder why I was so busy prioritizing the Fourth of July when Black people in America were not free in 1776. Juneteenth in 1865 made more sense. (I didn’t know what Juneteenth was until 2010 though.)
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From 1999 to 2001, I do recall feeling a little uncomfortable in college when speaking to Native students I’d befriended at my first college. While I was signing petitions to stop sports teams from using their likeness as mascots and going on camping trips and mingling in Canada to learn more about their heritage, I fumbled over how to bring up my Thanksgiving vacation versus theirs.
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Recommended Read: “Entertaining ‘they’ve-been-here-before’ youth at the Thanksgiving kids’ table ~ 7 ways to keep children entertained and educated during the holiday season”
Although my elementary school teachers had no problem with assigning “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and “Roots,” along with watching the TV series and the Denzel Washington film, I can only guess that these Afrocentric teachers felt like they’d dropped enough of a heavy load on us about our own history without spending several weeks on Native American history too. (We knew Christopher Columbus was pathetic, but that was about it.) Plus, it’s tough explaining the uglier history of Thanksgiving to children.
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The real history of Thanksgiving
In the 1600s, approximately 90 Wampanoag natives saw English foreigners (i.e., Pilgrims) on their land and wondered what they were up to. Chief Massasoit was skeptical of their intentions and went as far as requesting that his “powwows” (religious healers who are commonly known as shaman) summon the spirits to make the Pilgrims leave. No dice. They stayed.
Not an “I Do See Color” subscriber yet? You’re welcome to check out Shamontiel’s prior post on “Blavity.” This IDSC post has been significantly edited with additional information included.
There was already a treaty in place — the Pilgrim-Wampanoag Peace Treaty — drafted and signed on March 22, 1621 CE by Governor John Carver of the Plymouth Colony and Massasoit of the Wampanoag Confederacy. All parties honored that treaty until the chief died in 1661 CE.