According to Wikipedia:
“U.S. tradition associates [Thanksgiving] with a meal held in 1621 by the Wampanoag [American Indians] and the Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts. This element continues in modern times with the Thanksgiving dinner, often featuring turkey, playing a large role in the celebration of Thanksgiving. … The Pilgrims were particularly thankful to Squanto, the Indian who taught them how to catch eel, grow corn and who served as an interpreter for them (Squanto had learned English as a slave in Europe). Without Squanto’s help the Pilgrims might not have survived in the new world. The explorers who later came to be called the “Pilgrims” set apart a day to celebrate at Plymouth immediately after their first harvest, in 1621. At the time, this was not regarded as a Thanksgiving observance; harvest festivals were existing parts of English and Wampanoag tradition alike.”
That’s what we all learned in grade school, but there’s one part that was left out of the lessons, and since I’m always trying to tell “the whole story” (not just the mass-media approved version), here’s a Political Cartoon that illustrates the irony of the holiday that we just celebrated.
So why not take a moment and thank an American Indian today?
