Opinion | I wasn’t properly taught the truth behind Thanksgiving
Mady Dever, Opinions Editor
It’s the time of year again when I cook for hours, eat within minutes and then clean the house and do the dishes for a week.
Ever since I was little, I have loved Thanksgiving. I love cooking with my family, setting the table with fancy dinnerware and tablecloths we only put out specifically for the holidays. At its core, it’s a day spent eating amazing food you cooked with family and being grateful for their company. What could be better than that?
In elementary school, I learned about pilgrims and Native Americans coming together to celebrate their harvest. Harmony ensued, humanity was pure and the sentiment remained that two different cultures were able to coexist in peace. The end.
But later in life, I came to realize that things were not so jolly. Removing Thanksgiving from the equation, the basis of our country was founded on Europeans taking native land for themselves, colonizing its preexisting habitants and bringing new diseases.
The English-speaking native Tisquantum, or Squanto – the man credited with teaching pilgrims how to grow crops and hunt – only knew English because he was captured by John Smith’s men with the intent to be sold into slavery. Upon returning to America, his entire tribe had been killed by the plague and replaced by the Mayflower pilgrims. So given this context, it’s hard to look at Thanksgiving as a festive, innocent celebration.
Here I am, wondering why the heck we even observe this holiday. It’s a similar paradox to separating the art from the artist; this artist is a bad person, but I grew up listening to their music, for example. The history of this holiday is dark, but I love making pies and spending the day with my family. Should we celebrate Thanksgiving and just turn our heads to its travesty?
Some of what we know is supposedly true, though facts are a bit foggy and misleading. The Mayflower Pilgrims did arrive at Plymouth Rock in 1620, holding a three-day celebration in 1621 for a successful harvest, attended by members of the Wampanoag tribe.
Yet whether or not there was ever true peace between these people, it didn’t last. As more European settlers arrived, the plague killed over half the Native American population and war broke out as they fought over land, namely King Philip's War, which is said to have been twice as deadly as the American Civil War. While this day serves as a time to thoughtlessly visit distant cousins and grandparents, it simultaneously is a sobering recollection of our nation’s horrid past – one that many don’t care to acknowledge.
I wish this day of love and thankfulness wasn’t tainted. I have always associated this day with appreciation, being kind and letting the people in your life know how thankful you are for their company. I love to call old friends, reconnect and take a long nap after the tryptophan from the turkey kicks in.
But just because we cherish this holiday doesn’t mean we should ignore the past. Instead of pretending the holiday was perfect, we can at the very least take the time to read a five-minute article and learn about a cruel history.
We shouldn’t wallow in our own self-pity at how horrible our ancestors were. On the contrary, we should take the events from the 1600s to examine how to actively perform as conscientious individuals in interpersonal relationships and as global citizens moving forward.