Religious Education Update: November 5, 2006

Giving Thanks

The story of the first Thanksgiving is well known to American school children. The grateful Pilgrims invite their friends and neighbors, the Wampanoag, to feast in celebration of the first Pilgrim Harvest. The Pilgrims at that first Thanksgiving had survived a harsh winter, and were thankful to their God for the successful harvest and the promise of a more prosperous future.

But, what would be the Wampanoag perspective? Their descendents still live in small numbers in Massachusetts and gather on Thanksgiving Day for a National Day of Mourning, a time to remember the violence and discrimination suffered by Native Peoples across America in the days and years after that first Thanksgiving.

Most Wampanoags were distrustful of the Pilgrims due to previous disastrous encounters with Europeans. It didn’t help matters that the Pilgrims believed that they were God’s chosen elect and saw no need to respect the Wampanoag’s religious beliefs.

At harvest time, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag met to negotiate a land agreement, which allowed the Pilgrims to build Plymouth Plantation. Following Native American custom or out of charity, the Wampanoags brought most of the food for the three days of meetings. This conference was later celebrated as the First Thanksgiving. After the first Thanksgiving, a war broke out between the settlers and the Wampanoags which resulted in the deaths of many of the natives. Some of the survivors of the war were enslaved by the white settlers.

In light of this unfortunate history, I prefer to focus on the concept of giving thanks for the many blessings of my life, and not the deeds of the Pilgrims. In the words of Mohawk chief Jake Swamp, “Spirit protectors of our past and present, we thank you for showing us ways to live in peace and harmony with each other. To be a human being is an honor, and we offer thanksgiving for all the gifts of life.

Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education