Jessica Crabtree

#5: That’s Not What They Looked Like!

Here’s a typical traditional image of the holiday from the turn-of-the-century painting “The First Thanksgiving” by J.L.G. Ferris. How many mistakes can you find?

For starters:

• The Indians in the painting are dressed like Plains Indians, like the Lakota or Comanche. For various reasons, the stereotypical Plains Indian has become the catch-all image for every Indian culture – but it’s completely incorrect. The Wampanoag Indians at the first Thanksgiving lived on the coasts of New England and had a completely different culture based on the available resources of that region (which also means they didn’t hunt buffalo or live in tepees.)

• The painting indicates that Indian women were present. This too is incorrect, as the reason the Wampanoag had joined the Pilgrims in the first place was to make sure the loud noises and gun volleys coming from the settlement weren’t signs of something being wrong. Their sachem or leader Massasoit arrived unexpectedly with around 90 warriors – and only once they established all-clear did they participate by bringing a contribution of fresh game – a sign of continuing friendship.

• Need I mention the way the Pilgrims are dressed? Obviously this painting is highly glamorized. The Pilgrims had suffered from poverty both in England and during their stay in Holland; how did their condition improve so much after a year of sickness and starvation in America? Notice the gentleman in black: he’s a clergyman, but over time the image of the Pilgrims as a saintly lot of devout people resulted in the notion that they all dressed in black clerical clothes. Of course, the Separatists weren’t the only people who came over on the Mayflower – the Pilgrim group was partly composed of “Strangers” including mercenary soldiers (like Miles Standish), merchants, and adventurers. They weren’t religious and didn’t get along with the Pilgrims at all.

• The composition of this painting is rife with the era’s most prevalent stereotypes and misconceptions about Native Americans – particularly the emphasis on assimilation and the deliberate downplaying of Native culture. Of course the best part is that the Indians are sitting down doing nothing while the Pilgrims condescendingly serve them (even though it was the Wampanoag who provided the meat, and helped the starving settlers to feed themselves). This contrast subtly reinforces the stereotype of the “lazy Indian” – i.e., the colonists are industrious and diligent, while the Natives are idle and adverse to progress, etc.

Note the woman on the left, teaching the “squaw” how to serve a meal like a proper civilized lady, and to know her place. And the fellow directly below them: “Me teachum red man how eat with fork”… how much do you want to bet that the Pilgrims didn’t even have silverware?

Test your own knowledge of the historical Thanksgiving event – see what other inaccuracies you can spot.

Click here for more on the real historical Thanksgiving.