History Behind Thanksgiving by Chloe Maher

In middle school and elementary when the leaves start to fall and the air becomes crisp and cool, we're all reminded of a sweet story, depicting the friendship between the Native Americans and pilgrims, on that fateful day we celebrate each year, gathering together with family as a homage to that tale. Most of us are told a happy story, with the Indians and pilgrims putting aside their differences and happily enjoying a meal together...But what truly happened that meaningful day? The story begins twenty three years prior to the day we would later refer to as, Thanksgiving, a holiday where we celebrate everything we're grateful for. In 1614 a group of explorers sailed back to England with a number of Indians, intended for slavery. When they came back, there was but one remaining member of the Patuxet Tribe, Squanto, whom of course we all learn about in school each year. He helped the pilgrims to work the land and survive in their new world. Later on, people back in England heard of how wonderful America was, so Puritans began arriving boat by boat. Along with other British men, they began enslaving natives and slaughtering them. Squanto, had previously negotiated a peace treaty with the pilgrims. However, he didn't consult the Pequots, another Indian tribe. They were absolutely furious and thus began the Pequot War.

In 1637, 700 members of the Pequot tribe gathered for their annual Green Corn Fest., an event similar to our modern day Thanksgiving, which we celebrate on the same day. The English and dutch surrounded the sleeping Indians in early dawn and massacred those who dared to come out and face them, while the women and children were burned alive, on a holiday symbolizing similar things as the meaning of Thanksgiving.
The pilgrims were the perpetrators of the deaths of ninety percent of the population, and are responsible for the small number of Native Americans still living in the US, 5.1 million, down from 100 million nearly four hundred years ago. Many Native Americans even refer to the holiday as "UnThanksgiving Day" or "Day of Mourning." Many believe that it's based upon a lie. Hartman Deetz, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe says the day is representative of American's denial of Native Americans existence.
Personally, I believe that the history behind the day is atrocious, and there should be more awareness of what really happened that day. However, what it stands for now is so meaningful for so many Americans. It's a day of togetherness, family, and friends. Perhaps for Native Americans the day would be more meaningful if the history was taught for what really happened so many years ago.