A Wampanoag retelling of Thanksgiving

Indian Country Today's daily newscast
A Wampanoag citizen retells us the true story about the first meeting between the Wampanoag people and the pilgrims. Plus, more on the handful of Native people who ran for public office in Tuesday’s election.
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[@therealjoeirox4052]

We need more indigenous led culture classes, for adults and children, alike. the day the indigenous disappear from this earth, everyone is in trouble. Native Lives Matter. ALL CHILDREN MATTER.

[@Tacit_Tern]

It requires a concerted effort of all tribes to create legislation, as well as legislators. And we now have more Natives in Congress than in any former generation. Change won't come without the hard work.

[@accesstotheredcarpet]

Back then many lives were lost to the plaque pandemic in the 1600s. Squanto’s tribe were wiped out from the pandemic. And many settlers as well were all killed. And thankfully many survived is why we are all here. Facts matter!

[@bcdgo3]

The interview with Steven Peters of the Wampanoag Tribe was very interesting. It would be great if teachers nationwide could incorporate these factual stories regarding Thanksgiving into their lesson plans around this time of year, especially.

[@pamelaocana6126]

Agreed. I am teaching a class on Outschool for children that includes the voices of the Wampanoag people, such as this interview and others by the Peters with their valuable contributions.

[@eleni1968]

I totally agree; The only push-back you might get is from the crazy GOP Alt-Right nut jobs who would flag this as CRT education because those White Nationalists are too insecure in their identities and way too uneducated to understand why this is NOT CRT but rather teaching the "truth" about US history and the history of North America.

[@ShinyNix86]

@@pamelaocana6126 I'm a homeschool mom, I just found outschool recently. Are you still offering this class or was it a one time only class? I'm homeschooling on a pretty slim budget, but if you had any secular, inclusive resources I would appreciate it immensely. Thank you for offering such a valuable class!

[@SpectrumOfChange]

Pretty sure this is too close to crt and gets into the banned books territory, it's going to be harder than ever to have the true histories taught in schools.

[@CrowdPleeza]

I've noticed some people confusing the first Thanksgiving of 1621 with the Pequot massacre of 1637. This is why they equate the first Thanksgiving with genocide. I haven't seen where any killings of Native Americans happened surrounding that first Thanksgiving.

[@minako134]

Because after the Pequot massacre, the white colonizers celebrated the massacre with a thanksgiving feast. Back then, thanksgiving feasts happened more often than yearly, any time there was something to celebrate...like a victory in "battle"... And they did this other times when they slaughtered indigenous people in New England in the 17th century...

[@accesstotheredcarpet]

@@minako134 incorrect facts! It was Squanto and the Wampanoag tribe who saved the Pilgrims because they were struggling to survive during the pandemic in the winter. Squanto’s family were wiped out from the plaque as well as colonizers were after his return from Europe. So many people were sick. The pilgrims did not kill the natives. In fact they were afraid of them until Squanto and Wampanoag came. Both got together and the natives taught pilgrims how to grow crop and prepare for themselves to survive. The pilgrims celebrated thanksgiving thanking their indigenous friends. That was the whole point of Thanksgiving. There was no war going on Thanksgiving. Prior to there were tribal wars natives against natives killing each other and the puritans. The Pequot massacre have nothing to do with Thanksgiving. Stick to facts and stop twisting the narrative!

[@centerfold8]

I wondered how one tells a small child about the horrors of history in a way that isn’t traumatic. I was traumatized as a child when I learned about horrific things that happened to my people

[@SpectrumOfChange]

That's definitely a difficult thing to navigate. I've seen different families handle it in different ways, including having age appropriate versions that update with developmental stages. Tricky though, no question. ❤

[@Andy_Babb]

It’s a travesty that the Wampanoag were denied tribal status from the federal government. Like they _NEED_ to have their colonizers tell them whether or not they’re a legitimate tribe?? They deserve the recognition of course, it just seems inane to me that the people who came in a few hundred years ago, after native Americans had been here thousands of years, are trying to dictate whether or not a real, living historic tribe is a “tribe”.

[@Andy_Babb]

I’m really happy to see more information the past year or two on the Wampanoag tribe. I happen to live in a Wampanoag burial ground and have always been so interested in learning more about the people who used to live on and off of this land. Who used the river across the street to travel and fish. There’s so much I want to know.

[@twodogsamuschristusmaxarel8578]

🐾🐾🐾

[@jasminnemcdonald94A]

I'm one third Cherokee and African American and I have thought that Thanksgiving meant parades and food. But now I see the truth behind this holiday. I even saw a scene from Addams Family Value where Wednesday was in a play about the first Thanksgiving. She changed the story by telling everyone the truth of this holiday to the people in the audience.

[@miguelangeldiaz9380]

I am indigenous and Spanish ...as per DNA results...proud of both...the difference between Spanish provincialism ( fun fact ..Spain never had colonies..the territories were treated as provinces and the indigenous population were Spanish subjects) and English colonization was that the Spanish government encouraged mixing with the natives. The English were more concerned with expansionism through extermination. The false history (leyenda negra) of Spanish atrocities (not to say there weren't any) was created and propagandized prior to the Spanish -American war by gringo jingoists.The biggest proof of the leyenda negra is in the demographics of each country....the US is about 1% native....Latin America's population is 80-85% native...so it easy to see where mass genocide really occurred.

[@davidhuber7552]

When I taught immigrants, I told students Thanksgiving Day teaches us two lessons, (1) gratitude or appreciation and (2) cultural diversity.

[@michelleg7]

Metacomet and his children, and the green corn massacre and many other things. The explanation as to why there are natives in Bermuda was due to the slave trade by the puritans. Squanto who wasn't wampanoag but patuxet but had a very difficult life when his tribe was wiped out by disease. His life story breaks my heart. He is just one of thousands of natives who were wronged and enslaved.

[@maticouribe1154]

Not sure why Native Americans agree to call themselves Indians still. Christopher Columbus thought he found a shortcut to India the country where Indians live, and ended up calling us Native Americans Indians. This naming needs to be fixed. We are Native Americans not Indian. Indians have their own country called India. Please fix this false teaching. Much love coming from a Native Diné tribe member. You can say Indigenous but not Indian. Maybe indigeans? Natives works fine.

[@stonepony2285]

$5 Indians

[@Solaris_Paradox]

We natives don't live up your racist expectations lol

[@stonepony2285]

@@Solaris_Paradox you are not a native American Indians you are European! ! The real native American were blue black,!

[@Tacit_Tern]

Only if First Nations peoples had better Immigration Policy.

[@elizabethmarshall3558]

:(

[@quinhaz7692]

Richard Sneed of the Cherokee Nation needs to mind his own business. Lumbee sovereignty and federal recognition has nothing to do with him or his tribe. Your bigotry is showing. Are you afraid there will be less money for you? How selfish.

[@DawnArrives]

I like what you are expressing but bro, your name is Steven Peters, let an ethnic Wampanoag do the speaking, not you! The Wampanoag look Black and Puerto Rican.

[@rhichey]

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

[@wk5156]

His name is likely a part of the forced assimilation that he spoke about early on. To say that he shouldn’t speak about this because of his name is narrow minded to say the least and part of the problem faced by those trying to get the truth out. Think before you write.

[@strayargus9382]

Think harder and research more to what happened in the past. Not all natives look the same anymore these days.

[@stop....hammertime]

🤣😂😭