“We want real history to be told in schools. It hasn’t been pretty and we shouldn’t describe it too horribly in the textbooks, but kids need to know what really happened during and after the first Thanksgiving.”
According to the Wampanoags, the indigenous people who welcomed the pilgrims from Europe 400 years ago, there were no turkeys. And no Indians with headdresses either. In fact, contrary to popular belief, the tribe was not even invited to that first harvest feast in 1621. When those religious refugees—they were persecuted in England—first celebrated Thanksgiving 400 years ago, things looked very different. than the family celebration celebrated in the United States today.
For the Wampanoags, who have the pilgrim fathers That first year led to the beginning of genocide, the occupation of their land and the erasing of their culture. What is a national holiday for the rest of America is the National Day of Mourning for the Wampanoags and other indigenous tribes.
“We are the first people of this country. And the memory of what happened can be painful. We are marginalized and erased. Sometimes we feel invisible. But we want to show the people that we are still here, we are not disappeared,” said Herring Pond Wampanoag President Melissa Ferreti.
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