Jessica Crabtree

PBS Independent Lens: “We Still Live Here”

A film about the modern-day Wampanoag people and the resurrection of the Wampanoag language. Members talk about living with their nation’s past and dealing with their popular image as “the Thanksgiving Indians” or “the Pilgrim’s Indians.”

You can watch the complete episode online through Thanksgiving (Thursday the 24th) at PBS Video.

(See also: We Shall Remain: After the Mayflower)

Here’s a post series from my blog archives about the evolution of the holiday, facts vs. myth.

10 THINGS ABOUT THANKSGIVING:

#1: Links and Resources – best websites, articles, & documentaries

#2: My Take on Thanksgiving – a few thoughts on perspective

#3: History of a Holiday – the birth of a legend

#4: The Wampanoag Side – the Indians of the “first Thanksgiving”

#5: That’s Not What They Looked Like! – an example of Thanksgiving stereotypes (one of my most popular posts!)

#6: The Indian Guests – more on the Wampanoag

#7: The Real Story – the historical Thanksgiving & archaeology

#8: The Original Thanksgiving Menu – the foods of the Plymouth Thanksgiving

#9: Thanksgiving 1621 – first-hand account

#10: The “First” First Thanksgiving – a little-known precursor to the holiday

Above: A National Geographic photo of the reconstructed Plimoth Plantation settlement.

Indian Country Today – Jessie Little Doe Baird honored with $500,000 Genius Grant

Amazing story of a brilliant Native scholar who reconstructed the Wampanoag language.

See also:
MacArthur Foundation – Jessie Little Doe Baird
Wopanaak Language Reclamation Project

#1: Links & Resources

Some useful links about Thanksgiving’s history

First and foremost I have to recommend the first episode of the American Experience series We Shall Remain. “After the Mayflower” gives a perceptive and thorough background of the Plymouth Colony and the relationship between the colonists and the Wampanoag. The reenactments are told primarily from the Native viewpoint and are extremely authentic. Very good for anyone interested in the subject – and best of all, you can watch it online for free, direct from the PBS website.

We Shall Remain: After the Mayflower

Smithsonian Magazine: “Native Intelligence” by Charles C. Mann – This is a very exhaustive historical writeup on early Wampanoag-colonist relations, the culture and politics of the region, and the background of the “first Thanksgiving.” Very highly recommended reading.

Plimoth Plantation – This is an organization similar to Colonial Williamsburg. It’s a historical society that uses reconstructions and reenactments for educational purposes. There are many good resources on their website including photos, essays, and an outstanding interactive for school-age kids about the 1621 Thanksgiving.

-Thanksgiving at Plimoth
http://www.plimoth.org/discover/thanksgiving/

-About the Wampanoag
http://www.plimoth.org/features/wampedusite.php

-The Food at the First Thanksgiving
http://www.plimoth.org/discover/thanksgiving/plenty.php

-Interactive: The First Thanksgiving
http://www.plimoth.org/education/olc/intro.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wampanoag

Homesite of the Mashpee Wampanoag
http://mashpeewampanoagtribe.com/

http://www.pequotmuseum.org/

Educational pamphlet about Thanksgiving (PDF)
http://americanindian.si.edu/education/files/NMAI_Harvest_Study_Guide.pdf

The “Original” Colonial Thanksgiving at St. Augustine:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2007-11-20-first-thanksgiving_N.htm

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/112107/nes_218975232.shtml

#2: My Take on Thanksgiving

Holidays almost invariably stir up a lot of emotionally-charged issues. The volatile mix of relatives, religion, and politics inevitably leads to a lot of vitriol – and sometimes with good reason. Holidays in our modern culture tend to gravitate either towards crass commercialism or romanticized idealism, often combined with a convoluted view of history. In the case of Thanksgiving, gratitude and togetherness are excellent things to celebrate so long as they are not tinged with antiquated political propaganda and racial stereotyping. When this happens – intentionally or not – the results can be damaging.

In a bitter irony, the whole story of Thanksgiving shrouds what is possibly history’s worst case of ingratitude. No version of the Thanksgiving story would be complete without an account of the horrific sequel that occurred only a generation later. We all know the story of Squanto and the Wampanoag chief Massasoit befriending the Pilgrims and saving them from starvation, and later sharing the seminal “first Thanksgiving.” But few realize that many of the same Pilgrims who grew up in the shadow of that festive occasion later murdered Massasoit’s son and paraded his head through Plymouth in a second “unofficial” Thanksgiving; and that the very same Wampanoag with whom they had pledged friendship were brutally hunted and killed or sold into slavery. In a bitter irony, the whole story of Thanksgiving shrouds what is possibly history’s worst case of ingratitude. It’s hard to find another instance where a country’s ideals stand so high while its history is so contaminated with whitewash, treachery, and genocide. And the worst part is, most of us are completely disconnected with the reality of our past and the true context in which we commemorate it.

It’s easy to understand why so many Indians object to the popular form of Thanksgiving. On face value it seems to celebrate the successful European colonization of America and the exploitation of its bountiful resources at the expense of dispossessing an entire race – and to add insult to injury, it seems to commemorate the Indians’ generosity in helping the process along! Mainstream America eagerly incorporates Indians into its holidays, its entertainment, as sports mascots – almost casually, as if they are the intellectual property of the United States, part and parcel of the American mythology, and not real people who are part of living, sovereign nations. We love to include the Indian stereotype – without the price of telling the full story. (continue reading…)

#4: The Wampanoag Side

Prior to the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620, the Wampanoag Indians had suffered greatly as a result of diseases brought to the New World by visiting English explorers, merchants, and slave traders. Their drastically reduced numbers left their society weakened and vulnerable. Through their alliance with the Pilgrims – mostly Separatist immigrants fleeing religious persecution in Europe – the Wampanoag hoped to bolster their standing with more powerful Indian confederacies and create a lasting cultural bond with the struggling English settlers.

What they could not have foreseen is that their intentions for closely interdependent communities were not mutual. The English settlers wanted a completely separate and distinct civilization in the New World, one which was based on the European models of land ownership and management. This, combined with the immigration of many thousands of English to the region within the next few years, would soon jeopardize the very right of Native American communities to exist.

In a bitter irony, the whole story of Thanksgiving shrouds what is possibly history’s worst case of ingratitude.

Below: The most powerful and sobering Thanksgiving image ever.

#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.

#6: The Indian “Guests”

Approximately 100 Wampanoag warriors were present during the three-days of festivities. Why no women and children? Because the loud noises and gun volleys coming from the Pilgrim settlement sounded more like a war in the making, alarming the Indians into investigating; despite their high hopes for the alliance, the Wampanoag knew that their friendship with the English was a tenuous one. Once they realized the commotion was harmless, they joined their neighbors’ merriment to show their solidarity.

And the Wampanoag were no freeloaders either; once more their legendary generosity landed a place in history. When they realized there would not be enough food to go around, they provided fresh venison and poultry for the feast.