Reframing Squanto and Thanksgiving
Photo illustration: Humanizing History Visuals.
Welcome to Humanizing History™! Every month, we feature a central theme. Each week, we dive into different areas of focus.
This month’s theme: Land Shapes People & People Shape Land
This Special Send focus: How To Talk About Thanksgiving (sometimes, we’ll craft a “Special Send” in regard to holidays, Heritage Months, and other timely considerations)
This edition of Humanizing History™ is approximately 1700 words, an estimated 7-minute read.
The Why for This Week’s Special Send
With U.S. Thanksgiving one week away, we wanted to share this Special Send in addition to our regular Tuesday newsletter — in case you missed it, this week we talked about the amazing journey of corn!
One of the most common questions we hear from educators and families is how to discuss the story of Thanksgiving in both factual, and developmentally-appropriate ways. In this special “How To,” we’ll examine ways to reframe this topic so it’s rooted in humanizing historical accuracy.
As always, what we are suggesting are some recommendations for how educators or caregivers may approach this topic — but they are not the only ways to discuss this topic with children.
Thanksgiving Can Mean Different Things to Different People
How we introduce or discuss a complex topic like Thanksgiving is an important consideration.
Let’s first begin with a quick exercise: How would you describe the story of Thanksgiving to a child or student? (Consider taking a moment to write down your own words.)
Consider the framing: In your description, whose perspective or point of view is being embraced? Did you focus primarily on the English people? Did you name the Wampanoag people? What vocabulary did you use? Are there parts of the story that you feel are missing in your framing?
Finally, what do you want your students or children to know — to see, hear, and feel when discussing Thanksgiving?
As we review key moments of history, remember, the topic of Thanksgiving can conjure up different imagery and many emotions..
Paul Chaat Smith, a Comanche author, describes how underneath everything — the range of feelings, frantic travel, and distortions that can come with the holiday — there’s a complex reality. In this compelling video “The Invention of Thanksgiving,” Smith states, “Thanksgiving is about trying to come to terms with this very difficult truth about the United States, that the country is a national project that came about at great expense to Native people.”
What We Typically Learn vs What Most Likely Happened
Many of us likely learned a sugarcoated, inaccurate version of Thanksgiving.
We might’ve read books with images and stories of Pilgrims — people who are often described as leaving England solely for religious freedom — sharing an abundance of food with Native Americans. It was likely true that meals took place, as journals from the English settlers documented a 3-day harvest feast. However, quite often, much historical context is overlooked.
The narrative we learn likely prioritizes the Pilgrim perspective, starting with their arrival, while overlooking the Native American perspective — including the reality that many of the foods eaten were the result of agricultural science, developed by Indigenous people for thousands of years — and how the support from Indigenous people was critical to the survival of English settlers.
We can shift our focus so that the narrative of what happened in the Northeast starts with, and/or better includes, the perspectives of those who lived here for generations.
For thousands of years, Indigenous people lived in this region of the world, across Southeastern Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island. The Wampanoag Nation, or “People of the First Light,” included over 67 distinct communities.
Living a partially sedentary and nomadic life, the Wampanoag moved with the seasons. They were skilled farmers, hunters, fishers, craftspeople, and architects — constructing round-shaped homes, or wetus, which could heat and cool evenly, and multi-family dwellings, or longhouses.
Changes for Wampanoag Nation and Squanto
What’s often missing from the narrative is that a terrible plague swept across the Wampanoag Nation just a few years before the arrival of the Pilgrims.
Throughout the 1500s, some people in the Wampanoag Nation engaged in trade with some Europeans. Between 1616-1619, the plague, a result of a disease introduced by Europeans, is estimated to have killed nearly 90% of the Wampanoag community — an event often described as the “Great Dying.”
During this time period, some Europeans also unjustly enslaved some Native Americans. (It’s been estimated that some Europeans enslaved as many as 2.5 to 5 million Indigenous People across the Americas between 1492 and 1900.)
Tisquantum, or Squanto — an often referenced figure in Thanksgiving history — was one of the people who was wrongfully enslaved. Forcibly brought to Europe, Tisquantum learned English to better his chances at freeing himself. After many obstacles and travels, he eventually returned across the Atlantic years later, only to come home and find that his Wampanoag village of Patuxet was empty.
Scholar Linda Coombs describes the impact, “Wampanoag nation was made up of 69 villages with an average of about 1,000 people per village.” She estimates that about 50,000 people died in two years from the plague, and “as far as we know, Squanto was the only survivor” of his village.
With no living family, Tisquantum would seek refuge with another Wampanoag community. He would also be one of the first Native Americans to meet and help the Pilgrims survive.
Who we consider to be the “Pilgrims” is worth unpacking as well.
In England, a branch of Puritans, the “Separatists,” wanted to detach from the Church of England. In an attempt to escape religious persecution, they moved to Holland for a few years, and eventually collected enough financial capital from investors to fund their journey to, what they called, the “New World.”
The voyage would be delayed after one of the two ships kept springing leaks, so eventually all 102 passengers crammed into one ship, the Mayflower. About half of the passengers were “Saints,” mostly moving for religious purposes, the other half were “Strangers,” coming for economic profits. After a tumultuous 66-day voyage across the Atlantic, they spotted land.
The Pilgrims had intended to settle in New York, but sailed off course, instead arriving at the shore of Cape Cod. They were ill and starving, and landed during a particularly brutal winter. Without adequate shelter, they primarily lived on the ship for months. When on land, they resorted to looting what appeared to be abandoned homes; they dug up reserves of corn and beans, originally buried by Patuxet villagers, and as they mention in their own journals, robbed graves in search of other goods.
After that first winter, only half would survive.
When Squanto met the Pilgrims, and the Pilgrims met Squanto, different themes may emerge: tragedy, desperation, the desire to survive.
The Pilgrims were in a new land, with no adequate shelter. The likely lone survivor of his village, Tisquantum may have viewed assisting the Pilgrims as some kind of opportunity. But we can’t say for sure.
What we can say with confidence is that Tisquantum’s skills — hunting, fishing, enhanced methods for growing food, translation abilities — provided a lifeline to Pilgrims.
How to Reframe The Standard Approach
Adding friction to the sugarcoated version of Thanksgiving provides an opportunity for us to share a more accurate and inclusive narrative. The following includes some ideas on how to start reframing the narrative so it's humanizing and inclusive for children.
Celebrate the Long Story of Technological & Cultural Innovation
We can begin the narrative with a history that goes back thousands of years. Consider highlighting examples of technological and cultural innovation cultivated by Indigenous people across the millenia. The following may be a helpful resource: Native Knowledge 360 Essential Understandings.
Highlighting that Native Americans were stewards of the land, scientists, and innovators is a way to recognize essential contributions — especially considering that thousands of years of Native American agricultural science ends up on many modern day Thanksgiving dinner plates. For inspiration, consider our recent newsletter about the incredible innovation of corn.
Highlight Traditions & Resilience
Examine the origin of the day. The tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving was institutionalized during the Civil War by Abraham Lincoln, when he issued a proclamation for the country to observe a “day of Thanksgiving” — an idea that editor and writer Sarah Josepha Hale had advocated for through a 36-year essay and letter writing campaign.
Discuss how the day combines traditions. As stated by the Smithsonian, the 3-day “Harvest Ceremony” was a moment of “temporary peaceful coexistence.” The article also describes how the festivities combined traditions from both Europeans and Native Americans, such as the European festival called Harvest Home, and the Wampanoag tradition of celebrating harvest with feasts, dancing, and “give away ceremonial games.”
Recognize that not all of the history “feels good,” but we can review it honestly and expand or humanize our approach. In the decades and centuries that followed this 3-day feast, alliances ended and much violence unfortunately occurred. Highlight Native American resistance to European colonization, recognize it also had a grave impact, and that resilience was/is also a central theme. As mentioned in Native Knowledge 360, “American Indian history is one of cultural persistence, creative adaptation, renewal, and resilience.”
Use a Present Tense & Future Lens
When speaking about Native Americans, some educators or parents may fall into a past tense verb conjugation. Remember, Native Americans persevered and are still here. It’s important to have a present tense lens.
Highlight current-day celebrations, such as the Green Corn Ceremony and other ways of cultural preservation. Artists, like Elizabeth James-Perry, carry forward some of the Wampanoag’s cultural traditions and ecological knowledge through her artwork. This PBS video also highlights the work of Marcus Hendricks, who continues to make wampum beads and belts by hand.
For another current-day lens, consider Project 562 — a “multi-year national photography project dedicated to photographing over 562 federally recognized Tribes, urban Native communities” — created by Matika Wilbur of the Swinomish and Tulalip tribes.
Express Gratitude by Giving Back
Gratitude is a theme that can also be examined. In this article, Matika Wilbur offers additional guidance on how to discuss Thanksgiving with children: “They could become an ally to Indigenous communities by supporting their causes… Thanksgiving allows all of us to evaluate how we are being of service to community, so rather than centering what I’m grateful for once a year, we could ask ourselves, 'How we are expressing that gratitude in a way that gives back?'” For a picture book that centers gratitude, consider Giving Thanks by Chief Jake Swamp.
We mentioned so much history, and the importance of using a present tense lens as well, but what about the future? This month’s theme is “Land Shapes People and People Shape Land.” Consider asking children what matters to them and what kind of world they’d like to live in for the future. How do they want to relate to other people? As they grow up, how will they interact with and consider the earth?
Call to Action
We’d love to hear from you! Do you have ideas or book suggestions you’d like to suggest?
Please contact us to share.
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