This November, American families will gather around the dinner table to feast on stuffed turkey before celebrating a timeless Thanksgiving tradition: Thursday Night Football.  

Thanksgiving as we know it bears little resemblance to historical events. Once upon a time, Native Americans shared stores of food with English settlers—strangers from across the Atlantic—who would have starved were it not for their generosity.  

That’s the story of Thanksgiving—at least, the story told to school children. The idea that Native Americans capitulated to colonialism by welcoming English settlers to their ancestral land is a myth: one perpetuated to cover up a tragic and bloody history.  

Let’s travel back to a time when fortune and freedom were promised to anyone who could lay claim to the Americas and discover what led to Native Americans and English settlers sharing the first harvest feast.  

Here’s the real history of Thanksgiving.  

Sailing to the New World 

The Mayflower embarked from Plymouth, England, in September 1620 bound for the “New World.” The ancestors of Native Americans living in the Americas as far back as 30,000 years ago may have taken issue with that term, however. 

The Pilgrims traveled to the Americas in search of religious freedom, or so the story goes. In truth, they were separatists who wanted to own land, make their fortune, and set up a religious theocracy, which is kind of the opposite of freedom. Sidenote: They never referred to themselves as Pilgrims. The term “Pilgrim” wouldn’t pop up until the 1880s.  

After 66 days at sea, the Mayflower made landfall near the tip of Cape Cod and, one month later, crossed Massachusetts Bay. There, the Pilgrims established Plymouth Colony, having found a village, spring, and fertile fields ready for the taking. A prime example of manifest destiny, right? Well, the only reason the land was unoccupied was because the Native Americans living there had been wiped out by disease.  

The First Winter: Squanto Arrives

The first winter was unforgiving. Of the 102 passengers aboard the Mayflower, half wouldn’t live to see spring. That’s when they received a surprise visit from a member of the Abenaki tribe. He spoke English and later returned with Tisquantum, known as Squanto.  

A member of Pawtuxet, a band of the Wampanoag tribe, Squanto had been captured and sold into slavery in 1614. He learned English in England. Later, he escaped in London and returned to his home across the Atlantic.  

Making Contact: Wampanoag and Pilgrim Relations 

Wampanoags had experienced a century of contact with English settlers, and they didn’t always exchange pleasantries. At least two Wampanoags had been victims of the slave trade and had already been to and returned from Europe.    

Squanto became a translator and teacher, showing the Pilgrims how to fish, grow corn, avoid poisonous plants, and extract sap from maple trees. However, for all his kindness, Squanto may have only been laying the groundwork for a meeting with Wampanoag sachem (chief) Ousamequin. 

The Thanksgiving Feast of 1621

The Pilgrim’s first corn harvest was successful. Governor William Bradford organized a feast to celebrate and invited the colony’s Native American allies, including Wampanoag chief Ousamequin. America’s “first Thanksgiving” lasted three days. Alas, there was no pumpkin pie, candied yams, or potato casserole on the menu. Without an oven, the Pilgrims made due with dishes prepared using traditional Native American cooking methods, including roasted wild fowl and deer.  

Senior Plymouth leader (and later chronicler of the Pilgrims) Edward Winslow wrote:  

“… many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit (Ousamequin), with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted … And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.” 

Ousamequin would form a shaky alliance with the Pilgrims in the hopes that they would fend off their rivals: the Narragansetts. The alliance lasted 50 years (hey, there’s a silver lining!), but would end in war. King Philip’s War, also known as the Great Narragansett War, was a bloody conflict that resulted in the ruin of the Wampanoag tribe.  

Was 1621 Really the First Thanksgiving?

Was this the first-ever Thanksgiving? Doubtful. Harvest festivals date back millennia and were celebrated across cultures. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all feasted and paid tribute to their gods after the fall harvest. Before landing in the Americas, European settlers had a long history of feasting during times of plenty. Native Americans had similar feasts to commemorate the fall harvest.  

Why the Thanksgiving Story Turned Bloody 

While the tale of Thanksgiving is often told as a celebration of harmony between Pilgrims and Native Americans, the truth behind the holiday’s origins is far more complex and tragic. What began as a fragile alliance forged out of necessity soon gave way to a long history of broken promises, violent clashes, and devastating losses for the Native communities. 

To understand how the story of Thanksgiving evolved from a feast of cooperation to one of conflict and bloodshed, we must look at the factors that led to the unraveling of the initial peace and the hardships that followed: 

  • Fragile alliances over land and power
    The Wampanoag–Pilgrim alliance was born of mutual convenience: Native leaders like Massasoit sought help against rival tribes (e.g., the Narragansetts), and settlers needed food and guidance. Once those immediate threats faded, competition for land and resources reignited old tensions.
  • Disease and displacement
    European‑borne epidemics (smallpox, influenza) decimated Native populations, leaving “empty” villages that colonists claimed under the doctrine of discovery. The resulting dispossession fueled resentment and periodic violent clashes.
  • King Philip’s War: New England’s bloodiest conflict
    In 1675, Metacomet (King Philip), Massasoit’s son, led a pan‑Indian uprising against New England settlements. The war resulted in thousands of deaths and the near‑destruction of the Wampanoag people—turning a once‑celebrated harvest alliance into a chapter of deep tragedy.

Thanksgiving: A National Holiday to Heal the Nation 

In 1827, abolitionist and “Mary Had a Little Lamb” author Sarah Joseph Hale launched a campaign to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. She spent 36 years writing to politicians and presidents and became known as the “Mother of Thanksgiving.”  

At the height of the Civil War in 1863, Abraham Lincoln called for an annual Thanksgiving celebration to be held on the last Thursday of November. The move was likely strategic, with Lincoln encouraging Americans to ask God to “heal the wounds of the nation.” 

Thanksgiving Today 

Thanksgiving is taxing for many Native Americans, particularly those of the Wampanoag tribe, whose lives were forever changed after the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth. Wampanoag adults recall learning about the history of Thanksgiving in grade school, feeling invisible while teachers dispensed a Disneyfied version of events. Society, in their eyes, is making light of tragic events that weigh heavily on Native Americans. The Wampanoags of today commemorate Thanksgiving not as a day of thanks but as a day of mourning.  

Pursue Your Passion for History 

If you’re interested in Native American history, consider enrolling in our online course Native North America: Contact to Removal. This course surveys American Indigenous history from the period before European contact through forced removal policies and is offered as part of our 100% online Master of Arts in History program.  

Earn an MA in History From UT Permian Basin 

The University of Texas Permian Basin’s online MA in history program is ideal for aspiring educators, historians, and legislators, among others. Throughout this 30-credit online program, students explore the diverse people and unbelievable events that shaped the world we live in.  

We’ve already mentioned Native North America: Contact to Removal, but other core courses include: 

  • Industrial Revolutions 
  • American Revolution 
  • Civil War 
  • The 1920s 
  • World War I 

We’ve designed our program to be as accessible as possible. We offer a non-thesis option, in which all credit hours are devoted to coursework. Courses are entirely online and asynchronous, allowing you to pursue your graduate degree on your schedule. As a student, you’ll also have the option to enroll in graduate-level live remote courses offered by the history department.  

If you’re an aspiring professional or a history buff looking to turn your passion into a career, our program may be right for you. Apply now to our online Master of Arts in History program before history repeats itself—and you have to wait another semester.  

Sources: 
https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/thanksgiving-myth-and-what-we-should-be-teaching-kids-180973655/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/us/thanksgiving-myths-fact-check.html

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