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The question about Thanksgiving is not about providing vetted lessons to educators. Instead, consider how this tool can be utilized to examine any text to determine if it is appropriate for various student groups.

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"Teaching about Thanksgiving in a socially responsible way means that educators accept the ethical obligation to provide students with accurate information and to reject traditions that sustain harmful stereotypes about Indigenous peoples...Challenging the dominant and inaccurate narrative about Thanksgiving, providing students with a more balanced perspective of this oft-romanticized holiday, and refusing to dress students in feathered headbands are socially responsible actions. They’re actions that every teacher should undertake to benefit their students and the society their students will inherit."

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School Thanksgiving activities often mean dressing children in "Indian" headdresses and paper feathers as they sing " My Country 'Tis of Thee" or " Mr. Turkey." Some teachers might even ask their students to draw themselves as Native Americans from the past, complete with feather-adorned headbands and buckskin clothing. These activities might seem friendly and fun, unless you are aware of how damaging this imagery is to perceptions of contemporary Native peoples. This imagery contributes to the indoctrination of American youth into a false narrative that relegates Indigenous peoples to the past and turns real human beings into costumes for a few days a year. It's not just bad pedagogy; it's socially irresponsible.

Native Americans have been speaking out and writing back against the colonialist narrative of Thanksgiving for as long as the American narrative has existed. More recently, comedian Jim Ruel (Ojibwe) includes Thanksgiving in his act ( starting at 1:40 in this clip), Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambe Pueblo) writes about children's books that "set the record straight," and Native American students speak out about what Thanksgiving means to them.

Doris Seale (Santee/Cree) and Beverly Slapin (Dakota/Cree/Abenaki) edited A Broken Flute in 2005, which includes a chapter that deconstructs the myths perpetuated about the first Thanksgiving. This chapter also includes critical reviews of many books on the market or readily available in libraries and classrooms. Providing ample evidence that many non-Native publishers, illustrators and writers are missing the mark in several critical ways, these books exemplify the ineffectiveness of good intentions, the perpetuation of misinformation and the exclusion of Native American voices and experiences.

Teaching about Thanksgiving in a socially responsible way means that educators accept the ethical obligation to provide students with accurate information and to reject traditions that sustain harmful stereotypes about Indigenous peoples. Thankfully, there are excellent online resources that can help educators interested in disrupting the hegemonic Thanksgiving story.

Challenging the dominant and inaccurate narrative about Thanksgiving, providing students with a more balanced perspective of this oft-romanticized holiday, and refusing to dress students in feathered headbands are socially responsible actions. They're actions that every teacher should undertake to benefit their students and the society their students will inherit.

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Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way

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Educators have an ethical obligation to teach accurately about Thanksgiving. Here are some online resources that can help.

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Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way

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Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way

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School Thanksgiving activities often mean dressing children in "Indian" headdresses and paper feathers as they sing " My Country 'Tis of Thee" or " Mr. Turkey." Some teachers might even ask their students to draw themselves as Native Americans from the past, complete with feather-adorned headbands and buckskin clothing. These activities might seem friendly and fun, unless you are aware of how damaging this imagery is to perceptions of contemporary Native peoples. This imagery contributes to the indoctrination of American youth into a false narrative that relegates Indigenous peoples to the past and turns real human beings into costumes for a few days a year. It's not just bad pedagogy; it's socially irresponsible.

Native Americans have been speaking out and writing back against the colonialist narrative of Thanksgiving for as long as the American narrative has existed. More recently, comedian Jim Ruel (Ojibwe) includes Thanksgiving in his act ( starting at 1:40 in this clip), Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambe Pueblo) writes about children's books that "set the record straight," and Native American students speak out about what Thanksgiving means to them.

Doris Seale (Santee/Cree) and Beverly Slapin (Dakota/Cree/Abenaki) edited A Broken Flute in 2005, which includes a chapter that deconstructs the myths perpetuated about the first Thanksgiving. This chapter also includes critical reviews of many books on the market or readily available in libraries and classrooms. Providing ample evidence that many non-Native publishers, illustrators and writers are missing the mark in several critical ways, these books exemplify the ineffectiveness of good intentions, the perpetuation of misinformation and the exclusion of Native American voices and experiences.

Teaching about Thanksgiving in a socially responsible way means that educators accept the ethical obligation to provide students with accurate information and to reject traditions that sustain harmful stereotypes about Indigenous peoples. Thankfully, there are excellent online resources that can help educators interested in disrupting the hegemonic Thanksgiving story.

Challenging the dominant and inaccurate narrative about Thanksgiving, providing students with a more balanced perspective of this oft-romanticized holiday, and refusing to dress students in feathered headbands are socially responsible actions. They're actions that every teacher should undertake to benefit their students and the society their students will inherit.

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Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way

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Educators have an ethical obligation to teach accurately about Thanksgiving. Here are some online resources that can help.

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The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage They Imbue

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The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage They Imbue

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In Thanksgiving pageants held at schools across the United States, children don headdresses colored with craft-store feathers and share tables with classmates wearing black construction paper hats. It's a tradition that pulls on a history passed down through the generations of what happened in Plymouth: local Native Americans welcomed the courageous, pioneering pilgrims to a celebratory feast.

But, as David Silverman writes in his new book This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving, much of that story is a myth riddled with historical inaccuracies. Beyond that, Silverman argues that the telling and retelling of these falsehoods is deeply harmful to the Wampanoag Indians whose lives and society were forever damaged after the English arrived in Plymouth.

Silverman's book focuses on the Wampanoags. When the pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620, the sachem (chief) Ousamequin offered the new arrivals an entente, primarily as a way to protect the Wampanoags against their rivals, the Narragansetts. For 50 years, the alliance was tested by colonial land expansion, the spread of disease, and the exploitation of resources on Wampanoag land. Then, tensions ignited into war. Known as King Philip's War (or the Great Narragansett War), the conflict devastated the Wampanoags and forever shifted the balance of power in favor of European arrivals. Wampanoags today remember the Pilgrims' entry to their homeland as a day of deep mourning, rather than a moment of giving thanks.

We spoke with Silverman, a historian at George Washington University, about his research and the argument he makes in his book.

The Myth of Thanksgiving
How did you become interested in this story?
I've had a great many conversations with Wampanoag people, in which they talk about how burdensome Thanksgiving is for them, particularly for their kids. Wampanoag adults have memories of being a kid during Thanksgiving season, sitting in school, feeling invisible and having to wade through the nonsense that teachers were shoveling their way. They felt like their people's history as they understood it was being misrepresented. They felt that not only their classes, but society in general was making light of historical trauma which weighs around their neck like a millstone. Those stories really resonated with me.

What is the Thanksgiving myth?

The myth is that friendly Indians, unidentified by tribe, welcome the Pilgrims to America, teach them how to live in this new place, sit down to dinner with them and then disappear. They hand off America to white people so they can create a great nation dedicated to liberty, opportunity and Christianity for the rest of the world to profit. That's the story-it's about Native people conceding to colonialism. It's bloodless and in many ways an extension of the ideology of Manifest Destiny.

What are the most poignant inaccuracies in this story?

One is that history doesn't begin for Native people until Europeans arrive. People had been in the Americas for least 12,000 years and according to some Native traditions, since the beginning of time. And having history start with the English is a way of dismissing all that. The second is that the arrival of the Mayflower is some kind of first-contact episode. It's not. Wampanoags had a century of contact with Europeans-it was bloody and it involved slave raiding by Europeans. At least two and maybe more Wampanoags, when the Pilgrims arrived, spoke English, had already been to Europe and back and knew the very organizers of the Pilgrims' venture.

Most poignantly, using a shared dinner as a symbol for colonialism really has it backward. No question about it, Wampanoag leader Ousamequin reached out to the English at Plymouth and wanted an alliance with them. But it's not because he was innately friendly. It's because his people have been decimated by an epidemic disease, and Ousamequin sees the English as an opportunity to fend off his tribal rebels. That's not the stuff of Thanksgiving pageants. The Thanksgiving myth doesn't address the deterioration of this relationship culminating in one of the most horrific colonial Indian wars on record, King Philip's War, and also doesn't address Wampanoag survival and adaptation over the centuries, which is why they're still here, despite the odds.

The Thanksgiving Feast

How did the Great Dinner become the focal point of the modern Thanksgiving holiday?

For quite a long time, English people had been celebrating Thanksgivings that didn't involve feasting-they involved fasting and prayer and supplication to God. In 1769, a group of pilgrim descendants who lived in Plymouth felt like their cultural authority was slipping away as New England became less relevant within the colonies and the early republic, and wanted to boost tourism. So, they started to plant the seeds of this idea that the pilgrims were the fathers of America.

What really made it the story is that a publication mentioning that dinner published by the Rev. Alexander Young included a footnote that said, "This was the first Thanksgiving, the great festival of New England." People picked up on this footnote. The idea became pretty widely accepted, and Abraham Lincoln declared it a holiday during the Civil War to foster unity.

It gained purchase in the late 19th century, when there was an enormous amount of anxiety and agitation over immigration. The white Protestant stock of the United States was widely unhappy about the influx of European Catholics and Jews, and wanted to assert its cultural authority over these newcomers. How better to do that than to create this national founding myth around the Pilgrims and the Indians inviting them to take over the land?

This mythmaking was also impacted by the racial politics of the late 19th century. The Indian Wars were coming to a close and that was an opportune time to have Indians included in a national founding myth. You couldn't have done that when people were reading newspaper accounts on a regular basis of atrocious violence between white Americans and Native people in the West. What's more, during Reconstruction, that Thanksgiving myth allowed New Englanders to create this idea that bloodless colonialism in their region was the origin of the country, having nothing to do with the Indian Wars and slavery. Americans could feel good about their colonial past without having to confront the really dark characteristics of it.
Can you explain the discrepancies in English and Wampanoag conceptions of property?
It's incorrect as is widely assumed that native people had no sense of property. They didn't have private property, but they had community property, and they certainly understood where their people's land started and where it ended. And so, when Europeans come to the Americas and they buy land from the Wampanoags, the Wampanoags initially assume the English are buying into Wampanoag country, not that they're buying Wampanoag country out from under their feet.

Imagine a flotilla of Wampanoag canoes crosses the Atlantic and goes to England, and then the Wampanoags buy land from the English there. Has that land now passed out of the jurisdiction of England and become the Wampanoags'? No, that's ridiculous. But that's precisely what the English were assuming on this side of the Atlantic. Part of what King Philip's War was about is Wampanoag people saying, 'Enough, you're not going to turn us into a landless, subjugated people.'
Did all Wampanoags want to enter into alliance with the English?
From the very beginning, a sizable number of Wampanoags disagreed with Ousamequin's decision to reach out to [the English] and tried to undermine the alliance. Ousamequin puts down multiple plots to wipe out the colony and unseat him. Some Wampanoags say, 'Let's make an alliance with the Narragansetts and get rid of these English. They've been raiding our coast for decades, enslaving our people, carrying them off to unknown fates and they can't be trusted.' Some Wampanoags believed they caused epidemics and there were prophecies that this would be the end of the People.

When the English arrived, they entered a multilateral Indian political world in which the internal politics of the Wampanoag tribe and the intertribal politics of the Wampanoag tribe were paramount. To the degree the Wampanoags dealt with the English, it was to adjust the power dynamics of Indian country.
You write that during King Philip's War, efforts to unify different tribes against the settlers weren't always successful. Why was that?
The politics of Indian country are more important to native people than their differences with colonists. There were no 'Indians' when the English arrived. Native people didn't conceive of themselves as Indians-that's an identity that they have had to learn through their shared struggles with colleagues. And it takes a long time-they have been here for 12,000 plus years, and there are a lot of differences between them. Their focus is on their own people, not on the shared interests of Indians and very often, what's in the best interest of their own people is cutting deals with colonial powers with an eye towards combating their native rivals.
How does your telling of these events differ from other existing scholarship?
The main difference has to do with King Philip's War. The question is whether native people, led by Metacomet, or Philip as the English call him, were plotting a multi-tribal uprising against the English. I think they were. Some of my historian colleagues think it's a figment of paranoid English imagination. But I see a lot of warning signals building during the 1660s and 70s from Englishmen who lived cheek-by-jowl with Wampanoag people and were terrified of what they were seeing on the ground. I see a pattern of political meetings between native leaders who hated each other. And yet, they were getting together over and over and over again-it all adds up to me.

There's this tendency to see the English as the devils in all of this. I don't think there's any question they're in the wrong, but it doesn't let them off the hook to say that native people wouldn't take it anymore. And regardless of that, I think the evidence shows that native people had reached their limit and recognize that if they didn't rise up immediately, they were going to become landless subordinates to English authority.

This is about as contrary to the Thanksgiving myth that one can get. That's the story we should be teaching our kids. They should be learning about why native people reached that point, rather than this nonsense that native people willingly handed off their country to the invaders. It does damage to how our native countrymen and women feel as part of this country, it makes white Americans a lot less reflective about where their privilege comes from, and it makes us a lot less critical as a country when it comes to interrogating the rationales that leaders will marshal to act aggressively against foreign others. If we're taught to cut through colonial rhetoric we'll be better positioned to cut through modern colonial and imperial rhetoric.

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The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage They Imbue

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In truth, massacres, disease and American Indian tribal politics are what shaped the Pilgrim-Indian alliance at the root of the holiday

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History and Culture of the Mashpee Wampanoag

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History and Culture of the Mashpee Wampanoag

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Contact between Native and non-Native people is often seen as a singular event at a particular point in time. Contact is in fact and ever occurring experience between those surviving indigenous peoples in a place and those who continue to arrive and settle within and around indigenous communities. The following is a snapshot timeline of the contact experience of the Mashpee Wampanoag.

Contact Timeline for Mashpee Wampanoag

1616 Traders from Europe bring yellow fever to Wampanoag territory. The geographical area affected was all of the 69 tribes of the Wampanoag Nation from present day Provincetown, MA to Narragansett Bay; the boundary of the Wampanoag and Narragansett Nations. Fully two thirds of the entire Wampanoag Nation (estimated at 45,000) die. This also represents a loss of as many speakers of the language. Hardest hit are Elders and small children; critical age groups for any language. European disease would also place in jeopardy each tribes ability to sustain a population for defense of its territory and culture. tment.

1620 Mayflower arrives in current day Provincetown, MA and then moves across Cape Cod Bay to Pahtuksut (current day Plimouth MA). The Pahtuksut Wampanoag do not approach the Europeans for another three months for fear of more disease being brought ashore.

1632 Missionaries begin to arrive in Wampanoag territory. John Eliot arrives from Cambridge, England and begins to learn the language of the Wampanoag in an effort to translate religious materials into Wopanaotaok (Wampanoag language) for the conversion of Wampanoag to Christianity. This is the first Amer-Indian language to employ an alphabetic writing system in the codification of its language.

1655 Harvard Indian College opens for the purpose of educating Indian youth. Harvard was in financial troubles during this time and felt that if they opened an Indian College they could secure more funding from those benefactors in England. If the Wampanoag population were assimilated to Christianity and moved away from traditional life, the ease with which land could be appropriated would prove profitable.

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Contact between Native and non-Native people is often seen as a singular event at a particular point in time. Contact is in fact and ever occurring experience between those surviving indigenous peoples in a place and those who continue to arrive and settle within and around indigenous communities.

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A Brief Timeline of Wampanoag History

By jessie little doe baird

1620: Pilgrims established a settlement on Wampanoag land in Plymouth

1675:King Phillips War. Over forty percent of the Wampanoag tribal population is killed and large number of healthy males sold off as slaves.

1685: Twenty five square miles of land reserved by the Tribe in the form of a deed from tribal leaders to Tribe itself in 1665. Plymouth Colony confirmed this deed in 1685.

1725: Plymouth Colony institutes a proprietary system of land control in Mashpee, with tribal members known as the collective owners of the land, or proprietors.

1746: Plymouth Colony appoints three guardians over Mashpee tribe to limit the Tribe's independence. Tribe protests repeatedly, to no avail.

1760: Tribe dispatched delegates to meet with the King of England, where they repeated complaints. The King ordered changes in governance.

1763: Plymouth Colony complies with King, acknowledges Mashpee as a self-governing Indian district.

1770: Boston Massacre. Crispus Attucks, a Wampanoag is killed.

1775: Mashpee Wampanoag tribe members fight on behalf of independence in the American Revolution.

1790: U.S. Congress approves the Trade and Intercourse Act, requiring federal approval for Indian land agreements.

1822: Federal officials deliberate on federal Indian removal policy, the federal government denominates Mashpee as a tribe in occupation of a reservation.

1822: For the next twenty-five years, federal officials regularly include Mashpee in federal reports of federal Indian policy. Officials also periodically assess conditions on the Mashpee reservation. Mashpee Tribe and reservation are also referenced on federal lists of tribes in the United States.

1834: Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe protests the authority of non-Indian overseers. Massachusetts Legislature revokes their authority, acknowledging Mashpee as a completely self-governing Indian district.

1842: The Massachusetts Legislature approves the division of Mashpee tribal lands. The land is split among tribal members, making individual property allotments and inalienable to anyone other than Mashpee proprietors. The federal government did not approve this attempted extinguishment of tribal title as required by the 1790 Trade and Intercourse Act. The Commonwealth leaves roughly 5,000 acres of Mashpee land in tribal ownership.

1850: Federal census of tribes is updated and it includes the Mashpee Tribe.

1869: Legislature makes Mashpee Wampanoag tribal members as state citizens and lifts the restraint against alienation of Mashpee allotments to anyone other than other Mashpee proprietors.

1870: Legislature authorized the conveyance of the remaining 3,000 - 5,000 acres in tribal ownership, abolished the Mashpee district, and created the town of Mashpee. The federal government did not approve this transaction as required by the 1790 Trade and Intercourse Act.

1890: U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs identifies Mashpee Tribe as one of the few tribes in the eastern United States still in possession of lands.

1904-1916: Mashpee children are sent to the Carlisle Indian School, administered by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, for assimilating tribes.

1870-present time: Mashpee Tribe maintains continuous title to and possession of key tracts of land within the historic Mashpee reservation.

1946: US Navy moves to temporarily condemn Mashpee beach lands for military training and uses, historical documents that show continuously retained aboriginal rights by Mashpee Tribe for water based resources in Mashpee.

1976: The Mashpee tribe files land claim in in federal court.

2007: Mashpee Tribe becomes a federally recognized tribe, authorizing tribe to acquire land and re-establish its Indian Reservation.

2012: Mashpee Tribe files "initial reservation" land in trust application with federal Department of Indian Affairs.

2015: Department of Interior approves Land in Trust Application for "initial reservation". Tribe begins re-acquiring tribal lands.

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By jessie little doe baird 1620: Pilgrims established a settlement on Wampanoag land in Plymouth 1675: King Phillips War. Over forty percent of the Wampanoag tribal population is killed and large number of healthy males sold off as slaves.

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A Wampanoag citizen retells us the true story about the first meeting between the Wampanoag people and the pilgrims. Plus, more on the handful of Native people who ran for public office in Tuesday’s election

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2024 Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In - November 2, 2024 12-3ET

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2024 Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In - November 2, 2024 12-3ET

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Teachers play a crucial role in advancing the museum’s work to transform popular understandings of Native histories, cultures, and contemporary lives. Participants can select two workshop breakout sessions. Each session guides educators through the effective use of classroom lessons and resources from Teaching for Change and the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). The goal of the Teach-In is to support awareness of the museum’s Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°) national education initiative, which promotes improved teaching about Native American communities through classroom lessons.

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edX Course: Foundations for Transforming Teaching and Learning about Native Americans - Nov 7

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edX Course: Foundations for Transforming Teaching and Learning about Native Americans - Nov 7

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In this course, learners will explore the impact problematic narratives about Native Americans have on society and student education, as well as learn ways to recognize and share more complete narratives, both inside and outside the classroom.

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SmithsonianX: Foundations for Transforming Teaching and Learning about Native Americans

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In this course, learners will join the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian to explore the impact of problematic narratives of Native Americans on U.S. society and education and learn ways to recognize and share more complete narratives both inside and outside the classroom.

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The “First Thanksgiving”: How Can We Tell a Better Story?

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The “First Thanksgiving”: How Can We Tell a Better Story?

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Grades 3, 4, 5

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The "First Thanksgiving": How Can We Tell a Better Story?

This inquiry resource provides evidence to help teachers and students dispel misconceptions and misunderstandings of the "First Thanksgiving." For a more complete history, examine details, circumstances, choices, and events through sources that include Wampanoag perspectives, which have been largely absent from this national story.

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Native Knowledge 360- The "First Thanksgiving": How Can We Tell a Better Story?

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This NK360° inquiry resource provides evidence in multiple formats to help teachers and students dispel misconceptions and misunderstandings of the "First Thanksgiving," especially in regard to the Wampanoag who have been largely absent from this national story. #NK360

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Grades Pre-K to 13+

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Native Knowledge 360° Resource | Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations: Native Perspectives on Thanksgiving

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Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations: Native Perspectives on Thanksgiving provides context on the prominent American holiday and guidance on how best to discuss its complexities with students. #NK360

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American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving

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American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving

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Grades 4-8

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The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I’ve Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday

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The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I’ve Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday

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The Thanksgiving Tale Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I've Found a Better Way to Celebrate

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The story of the pilgrims and the Indians was fabricated to create division instead of unity-so instead, let's focus on what we share: food.

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From Classroom for Change, "A Teacher's Guide to Teaching Thanksgiving Responsibly"

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From Classroom for Change, "A Teacher's Guide to Teaching Thanksgiving Responsibly"

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"As educators, truth-tellers, and keepers of history, we have an ethical and moral obligation to teach Thanksgiving responsibly while disrupting the dominant, one-sided colonial narrative that continues to perpetuate falsehoods and harm Indigenous communities to this day.

By confronting our past, we challenge untruths and make room for multiple narratives that offer diverse perspectives and paint a more complete picture of history. It is up to all of us to deconstruct the myths and stereotypes that are found throughout mainstream culture to face inaccuracies about the first Thanksgiving head-on. With the inclusion of Native perspectives, we can illuminate our past and share real stories that accurately and authentically reflect Native American heritage, culture, and history."

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This blog post was originally published on November 25, 2020 and is updated annually.

The Truth Behind Thanksgiving

The month of November is known for the quintessential American holiday of Thanksgiving, but November is also Native American Heritage Month. Why is this ironic? Well, in a nutshell, old, lingering traditions of Thanksgiving harm the very community we seek to honor + celebrate in a special way in November. There is more to Thanksgiving than what our history books tell us. Traditional stories about Thanksgiving are historically inaccurate, yet these harmful narratives are perpetuated year after year.

Before teaching the origins of Thanksgiving, we must consider the significance of the holiday and what it means to Indigenous people. Most materials cycling through our homes + classrooms paint an incomplete and inaccurate picture of what some refer to as the "First Thanksgiving." Myths of the Thanksgiving story more or less revolve around the "Pilgrims and Indians" coming together in 1621 to share a friendly meal as a symbol of peace. Though the Mayflower pilgrims and Wampanoag tribe did indeed come together to partake in an autumnal harvest, there is more to the story.

The actual relationship between the English settler newcomers and the Wampanoag tribe who called Plymouth Rock home was far from rosy. What our history books often leave out is the disease that was brought along with the pilgrims upon their arrival, the exploitation of Native resources, the broken alliances, and the brutal massacres on neighboring tribes. For many Native Americans, the sacred tradition of 'giving thanks' and what has become known as Thanksgiving is tainted by the tellings and retellings of a false Thanksgiving narrative. For Indigenous peoples, Thanksgiving is a day that is associated with the genocide of their people and is now more accurately referred to by Native Americans as "Thankstaking" because of all that was taken away and lost once the pilgrims arrived in their homeland. With this painful reminder, Thanksgiving has become a National Day of Mourning for Indigenous Peoples in the United States, yet it is still a holiday that is celebrated far and wide across the country.

How can educators, school leaders, families, and others address the Thanksgiving holiday while remaining culturally sensitive and true to history? How do we shift the conversation away from pilgrims and turkeys and towards honoring Indigenous peoples + a practice of gratitude? I tackle these questions and more in "A Teacher's Guide to Teaching Thanksgiving Responsibly" to help us unpack the hard history behind one of America's favorite holidays.

Teaching Thanksgiving Responsibly

Knowing the true story of Thanksgiving is just the first step. Now, how do we go about teaching Thanksgiving responsibly, and how can we address the holiday in a way that is culturally responsive and age-appropriate? Whether you are a parent, teacher, school administrator, community leader, or other changemaker, there are things you can do to make lasting change.

Here are 6 ways to support Indigenous communities and promote responsible teaching + learning of Thanksgiving.

1. Get the other side of the story. As the saying goes, "There are two sides to every story." Seek truth + understanding. Listen to Native voices. Start by learning about the "First Thanksgiving" and the history between the English settlers and the Wampanoag tribe. We have heard the perspective of the colonizers, but what do Native Americans have to say? Listen to Indigenous peoples and their stories to gain a deeper understanding of history as told by the insiders of that story. TODAY has a helpful article called "How to Tell Kids the Real Story Behind Thanksgiving" that puts history into perspective in a way that is age-appropriate and easy to understand. In the article, Matika Wilbur of the Swinomish and Tulalip tribes provides scripted examples of what adults can say to kids to help explain what really happened. The point is, if done in an honest, developmentally appropriate, and culturally responsive way, kids can handle the truth. *Matika Wilbur is also the creator of Project 562, "a multi-year national photography project dedicated to photographing over 562 federally recognized Tribes, urban Native communities, Tribes fighting for federal recognition and Indigenous role models in what is currently-known-as the United States, resulting in an unprecedented repository of imagery and oral histories that accurately portrays contemporary Native Americans."

2. Set the record straight. Once you are armed with the truth, it is time to educate + share the real story behind the Thanksgiving tradition with others. Address historical inaccuracies in the distorted retellings you hear. Interrupt and disrupt false narratives. Share credible resources to spread awareness and get the truth out there.

3. Honor Indigenous history. Throughout the process of teaching + learning about Thanksgiving, it is important to be mindful + respectful of Indigenous history. Keep in mind, for many Indigenous peoples Thanksgiving is a day of remembrance as they mourn and honor their ancestors. Refrain from wishing strangers a "Happy Thanksgiving" unless you know for sure Thanksgiving is a holiday they celebrate to avoid doing more harm than good.

4. Lift Native voices. Fight against harmful stereotypes by sharing authentic stories from members within the Indigenous community. Work to prevent the erasure of Native language, culture, and history by lifting Native voices so that their stories can reach the ends of the earth. Promote the work of Native authors, illustrators, artists, and storytellers. Include texts about and by Native Americans on bookshelves and celebrate the stories as well as the rich history of Indigenous peoples.

5. Support Native work. Fund and continue the work of Indigenous communities by purchasing from Native-owned businesses and shops. Beware of scammers who may try to profit off of Native-inspired goods. Make sure that what you are buying is authentic and Native-made.

6. Acknowledge the land. Recognize that Indigenous people are the original stewards of the land that is present-day U.S.A. and the land we currently live on is stolen land. You may have heard of the term "Land Acknowledgement." What exactly is a Land Acknowledgement? Northwestern's Native American and Indigenous Initiatives defines a Land Acknowledgement as "a formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories." The website for the Native American and Indigenous Initiatives states that when we recognize the land we are on, we are showing an expression of gratitude and appreciation for the territories we reside on. It's also a way to honor the Indigenous people who are connected to the land "from time immemorial." Moreover, Native American and Indigenous Initiatives says, "It is important to understand the long standing history that has brought you to reside on the land, and to seek to understand your place within that history." It is important to note that Land Acknowledgements are a customary practice within Native nations. Learn more about Land Acknowledgement by visiting Native Land Digital.

Teaching + Learning Resources

Check out these 7 remarkable resources to help guide + inform your culturally responsive teaching + learning of Thanksgiving!

1. For schools + classrooms, I highly recommend the Smithsonian's Native Knowledge 360º Education Initiative for professional development, lessons, + educational resources that seek to transform teaching + learning about Native Americans.

2. Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) churns out amazing, impactful resources, and their learning plan on "Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way" is no exception.

3. If you're looking for a brief history behind the Thanksgiving holiday and its origins, National Geographic has a great article that examines the traditions and evolution of Thanksgiving.

4. The National Museum of the American Indian has a YouTube channel and online exhibitions available for exploration. The museum also designed a special poster and teaching resource on "American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving", and it's FREE.

5. While you are there, The National Museum of the American Indian also has a blog post titled "Do American Indians celebrate Thanksgiving?" that's worth reading.

6. If you're on the hunt for diverse literature for and by Indigenous peoples, look no further than the comprehensive list put together by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo. Sadly, there is a limited amount of books available by Native authors in general, but I'm hopeful that will change. Until then, you can check out the American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) site which contains Children's and Young Adult Books Featuring Indigenous Peoples.

7. And, if you are looking for a great perspective piece, you're in for a good read with Time Magazine's article "The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I've Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday."

Final Thoughts

As educators, truth-tellers, and keepers of history, we have an ethical and moral obligation to teach Thanksgiving responsibly while disrupting the dominant, one-sided colonial narrative that continues to perpetuate falsehoods and harm Indigenous communities to this day.

By confronting our past, we challenge untruths and make room for multiple narratives that offer diverse perspectives and paint a more complete picture of history. It is up to all of us to deconstruct the myths and stereotypes that are found throughout mainstream culture to face inaccuracies about the first Thanksgiving head-on. With the inclusion of Native perspectives, we can illuminate our past and share real stories that accurately and authentically reflect Native American heritage, culture, and history.

Nowadays, Thanksgiving holds a different meaning for many American families. Over time, the holiday has become less about the myth of Thanksgiving and more about sharing a meal with friends and family, giving thanks, and showing gratitude. Nevertheless, as many of us prepare to gather together and sit around the table this Thanksgiving holiday, let us also prepare to interrupt and disrupt conversations that center false or incomplete narratives about the first Thanksgiving. We must count on ourselves to call in and amplify Native perspectives so that Indigenous peoples may have both a seat and a voice at the table.

November 2021

Cited in Planbook, an online leader in lesson planning. Click here to read "How to Teach About Thanksgiving Mindfully at Every Grade."

November 2022
"A Teacher's Guide to Teaching Thanksgiving Responsibly" featured as a teaching resource in First Name Basis' November newsletter on "How Your Family Can Center Indigenous Peoples During Thanksgiving"
As seen in Parenting Teens & Tweens' article "25 Fun Thanksgiving Traditions For Teens They Will Actually Want to Do"

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A Teacher's Guide to Teaching Thanksgiving Responsibly | Classroom For Change

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How can educators, school leaders, families, and others address the Thanksgiving holiday while remaining culturally sensitive and true to history? How do we shift the conversation away from pilgrims and turkeys and towards honoring Indigenous peoples + a practice of gratitude?

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6 Thanksgiving Myths and the Wampanoag Side of the Story

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6 Thanksgiving Myths and the Wampanoag Side of the Story

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Considering Indian Country Today has published its fair share of the true history of Thanksgiving, in which 90 Wampanoag shared provisions with the Pilgrims in 1621, we thought we would take a bit of time delving into some of the most common misconceptions about the November holiday, especially since many Americans think it's the only thing happening in November.
The Thanksgiving Day Celebration Originated From a Massacre
In 1621, though Pilgrims celebrated a feast, it was not repeated in the years to follow. In 1636, a murdered white man was found in his boat and the Pequot were blamed. In retaliation, settlers burned Pequot villages.

Additionally, English Major John Mason rallied his troops to further burn Pequot wigwams and then attacked and killed hundreds more men, women and children. According to Mason's reports of the massacre, "We must burn them! Such a dreadful terror let the Almighty fall upon their spirits that they would flee from us and run into the very flames. Thus did the Lord judge the heathen, filling the place with dead bodies."

The Governor of Plymouth William Bradford wrote: "Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, others run through with their rapiers, so that they were quickly dispatched and very few escaped. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire...horrible was the stink and scent thereof, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them."

The day after the massacre, Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop wrote that from that day forth shall be a day of celebration and thanks giving for subduing the Pequots and "For the next 100 years, every Thanksgiving Day ordained by a Governor was in honor of the bloody victory, thanking God that the battle had been won."
Native Americans and the Pilgrims Were "Besties"
The above statement is straight from the mouth of a fifth-grader at Long Elementary School in Ohio, who stated the Indians (Wampanoag) and Pilgrims were not "besties" or best friends. True to this statement, the pilgrims in Massachusetts were far from friendly. Soon after arriving in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Pilgrims went into Indians' dwellings and cornfields and took whatever they wanted leaving beads behind. But that isn't the picture that is painted by many accounts of the first Thanksgiving.

According to one colonist's account in Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen: "The next morning we found a place like a grave. We decided to dig it up. We found first a mat, and under that a fine bow... We also found bowls, trays, dishes, and things like that. We took several of the prettiest things to carry away with us, and covered the body up again."

The Pilgrims settled in an area that was once Patuxet, a Wampanoag village, but it had been abandoned four years prior because of a deadly outbreak of a plague brought by European traders. Before 1616, the Wampanoag numbered 50,000 to 100,000, occupying 69 villages scattered throughout southeastern Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island. The plague, however, killed thousands, up to two-thirds, of them. Many also had been captured and sold as slaves.

- A true Native American Thanksgiving
- Do American Indians Celebrate Thanksgiving?
- The Wampanoag Side of the First Thanksgiving Story
- 6 Thanksgiving Myths and the Wampanoag Side of the Story
- What Really Happened at the First Thanksgiving? The Wampanoag Side of the Tale
Native Americans and Pilgrims Came Together to Give Thanks and Celebrate
In 1621, when the Pilgrims were celebrating a successful harvest, they were shooting guns and cannons into the air. The Wampanoag chief and 90 warriors made their way to the settlement in full warrior mode-in response to the gunfire. As the Huffington Post's Richard Schiffman puts it, "It remains an open question, however, whether the Wampanoag were actually invited, or if they crashed the party."

The Pilgrims were most likely nervous-the Wampanoag outnumbered the Pilgrims two to one, but it certainly wasn't the happy picture put forth in many history books. According to Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Ramona Peters, "It was Abraham Lincoln who used the theme of Pilgrims and Indians eating happily together. He was trying to calm things down during the Civil War when people were divided. It was like a nice unity story."
They Ate Turkey, Sweet Potatoes and Cranberry Sauce at the First Thanksgiving
According to many historical accounts, there is no proof of turkey gobbling at the 1621 meal, but there was wild fowl (most likely geese or duck). Sweet potatoes were not yet grown in North American and cranberries are not a likely dessert food because sugar was an unaffordable luxury. Other items on the table included such things as venison, pumpkin, succotash and Indian corn.
(RELATED: 1621: The Original Surf & Turf Meal) Europeans Appreciated Squanto's Help
Many have heard the story of the friendly Indian Squanto who learned English from fishermen and later taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn and other vegetables. But what many history books don't share is that Squanto was kidnapped as a boy and sold into slavery in Spain. After several years, Squanto struggled to get back to Cape Cod.

When he returned to his village, he discovered he was the only member of his tribe that remained-the rest were either killed in battle or died of disease during his absence.

Another myth here would be to note that Squanto did not learn English solely to help the colonists-it was a necessity to facilitate his escape so he could return home.
Pilgrims Taught Indians About Thanksgiving
The Pilgrims did not introduce the sentiment of Thanksgiving to the Indians. According to Loewen, "Thanksgiving is full of embarrassing facts. The Pilgrims did not introduce the Native Americans to the tradition; Eastern Indians had observed autumnal harvest celebrations for centuries. Our modern celebrations date back only to 1863; not until the 1890s did the Pilgrims get included in the tradition; no one even called them 'Pilgrims' until the 1870s."

This article was originally published on 11/28/13. Follow Indian Country Today's Vincent Schilling on Twitter at @VinceSchilling.

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6 Thanksgiving Myths and the Wampanoag Side of the Story

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The Thanksgiving Day Celebration Originated From a Massacre - Let's Hear the Wampanoag side of the story ...

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Culturally Responsive Ways to Teach the History of Thanksgiving

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Culturally Responsive Ways to Teach the History of Thanksgiving

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Culturally Responsive Teaching

These resources can help middle and high school students learn about the first Thanksgiving and Native Americans today.

grandbrothers / Shutterstock

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, educators are grappling with how to teach their students about the first Thanksgiving in ways that honor the spirit of the holiday and are historically accurate and responsible.

The story that educators commonly tell of the first Thanksgiving is the same as what most Americans heard growing up. Pilgrims arrived in 1620 and had a tough winter. Native Americans, specifically the Wampanoag, helped teach them to plant hardy crops. After the successful harvest, they celebrated their friendship with a feast that came to be known as the first Thanksgiving. We tell this story because it's easy to tell, although it doesn't make for a richly engaging or solid history lesson.

When I first became a teacher, I knew my understanding of Native American history was limited, so I began the long but rewarding process of educating myself by reading articles written by Native voices sharing their perspectives on this national holiday and articles about Native American history. This initial research inspired me to keep asking questions and searching for culturally responsible ways of teaching middle and high school students about U.S. history. I hope you find these suggestions helpful as we enter into November, Native American Heritage Month.

Design lessons that include Native American knowledge

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) invites us to rethink Thanksgiving celebrations and take care to not perpetuate stereotypes or misrepresent Native American traditions-complex traditions developed over thousands of years that are unique to each individual tribe.

Create lessons that include Native knowledge and celebrate the richness of Native cultures through Native American art, literature, and foods while celebrating Thanksgiving. The Smithsonian's website offers a curated list of several culturally sensitive lesson plans, activities, and resources for educators.

These resources include a study guide for teachers exploring the factual context of the harvest ceremony and a teaching poster developed by NMAI that examines the deeper meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday for Native Americans through the themes of environment, community, encounters, and innovations.

discuss perspectives of Native Americans about Thanksgiving

In speaking about history, we may mistakenly send students the message that Native Americans exist only in the past. Moroni Benally, a citizen of the Diné Nation and public policy expert who has done much work with the Navajo Nation and Indigenous communities worldwide, shares his perspectives on how we can accurately and respectfully teach children about Native American people, Pilgrims, and the first Thanksgiving. Benally reminds us that by retelling and not correcting what he refers to as the "myths of Thanksgiving," we are teaching children that Native American history and perspective don't matter.

Although most Native Americans don't live on reservations, some reservations have cultural centers that offer educational programs and materials for educators. Some programs include docent-led educational tours for students, hands-on activities, and exhibitions of Native American art and traditional crafts. A Google search for tribal centers and Native American museums in your area is a good place to start. Indigenous World, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting people to the unique arts, culture, ideas, and identities of Indigenous people today, also lists major Indigenous cultural organizations providing educational resources.

Research the history of the land you inhabit

Native Land Digital, an Indigenous-led Canadian not-for-profit organization, offers a digital map and Territory Acknowledgement guide. This digital map is a tool meant to create and foster conversations about the history of colonialism, Indigenous ways of knowing, and settler-Indigenous relations.

Access the map by entering an address or exploring the display of Indigenous territories (official and unofficial) worldwide. Click a location and various nation names come up, and you can learn more about the complex history of the land and each nation, language, or treaty associated with it.

Debunk the details

According to historians, commonly believed simple details about the famous Thanksgiving meal are not quite correct. A more accurate first Thanksgiving story, as Benally points out in his article, might entail the following. Celebrating their harvest, the Pilgrims shot guns and cannons. The Wampanoag responded by sending 90 warriors in response to the gunfire. The Wampanoag likely were not invited but simply crashed the feast. Culinary historians believe the meal included seafood.

Liz Kleinrock, an educator and recipient of the 2018 Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching, invites us to consider sharing how our understanding of history and perspectives have changed over time. History is not fixed-rather, it is constantly in a process of being refined.

After all, the subject of history (more aptly called social studies) is a study of people and relationships rather than a chronicle of events. And, thankfully, people change. According to Kleinrock, a crucial part of teaching history is modeling for students how our thinking can shift. For example, we can say, "I used to believe ____, but now I believe ____." "I used to think ____, but now I ____."

Through embracing this mindset, teaching about Thanksgiving can be an authentic, powerful learning moment for our students-and ourselves.

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Culturally Responsive Ways to Teach the History of Thanksgiving

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These resources can help middle and high school students learn about the first Thanksgiving and Native Americans today.

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Each year the Office of Indian Education is asked to provide materials and resources on teaching about "Thanksgiving". The ask itself brings up a lot in our department as Native staff -- We want to meet the needs of districts and educators when they reach out to us, AND, more importantly, we want all educators to be equipped with the knowledge and tools to discern for themselves culturally appropriate teaching materials and methods. With the requests for "How Can We Teach Thanksgiving Responsibly", this requires educators to interrogate what they know and do not know about the holiday, so they are not perpetuating myths or stereotypes about Native people.

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To what extent is accurate Native American history taught in our classrooms? In what ways do we ensure our curricula is culturally responsive to Native youth and other student groups? In what ways is Native culture and language valued and represented authentically in our school? Is Native American History and culture only addressed during the month of November? If your district or school administers a student engagement survey, what do the results say about Native student sense of belonging in schools? All of these are important conversations and reflections to have as they will lead educators to the steps needed for them to collectively take unique to their context for any lesson taught to ensure it is culturally responsive and appropriate.

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'We have been disregarded': On 400th anniversary of Thanksgiving, the Wampanoag People want their story told

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'We have been disregarded': On 400th anniversary of Thanksgiving, the Wampanoag People want their story told

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‘We have been disregarded’: On 400th anniversary of Thanksgiving, the Wampanoag People want their story told

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When it comes to Thanksgiving, Linda Coombs and Paula Peters are trying to separate fact from fiction.

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Rethinking Thanksgiving Activity Guide: Approaching the Holiday Season with Culturally Responsive, Appropriate, and Accurate Celebrations

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Rethinking Thanksgiving Activity Guide: Approaching the Holiday Season with Culturally Responsive, Appropriate, and Accurate Celebrations

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Published by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde