1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving

11/5/2020

"On the autumn day Winslow described in his letter, when Governor Bradford sent four men to hunt wildfowl, the Wampanoag in the area no doubt heard the shooting. When the Englishmen started marching and firing their muskets in unison, the noise got even louder. It is likely that nearby Native people felt that Massasoit should be informed. Perhaps Massasoit wondered if the English were preparing for war. We may never know, but the fact that he showed up with 90 men, and no women, shows he was being cautious. When it became clear to all that the English were celebrating, Massasoit sent some of his men out to hunt deer for meat to contribute to the feast. Once it was seen to be safe, it is likely that Native women and children, particularly Hobbamock's family, joined them.

For three days, the English and the Native people met and ate together."

Catherine O'Neill Grace

Grace, in addition to writing a number of children's non-fiction books, was an elementary, middle, and high school teacher. She has served as the editor for The Saint Paul Pioneer Press, The National Geographic Society, The Washington Post, as well as USA Today.

Margaret M. Bruchac

Bruchac, an Assistant Professor Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, writes about the culture and history of native peoples from the colonial ear to the present. Bruchac's second children's book, Malian's Song, shares her own Abenaki history through retelling of the 1759 destruction by the English of Odanak, a village north of Montreal.

Synopsis

This photo-essay is the work of National Geographic photographers in cooperation with the Plimoth Plantation. Photos accompanied by clear, concise descriptions documents the museum's October, 2000 historically accurate recreation of the colonists' three-day harvest celebration.

Plimouth Plantation

Plimoth Plantation, founded in 1947 to honor the 17th-century English colonists, began to draw from new research and the Wampanoag people in the last few decades in order to add the Native people's perspective to our understanding of these historical events.

World Relevance

Understanding history is a complex endeavor; the more perspectives we share with our children about specific historical events the better. Hopefully, if you were to ask an 8 to 12-year-old to describe the different ways the year 2020 has been historic the list would be long. While a student at this age may not be able to articulate it yet, each item on this list would encompass multiple perspectives of the event. Studying history is exploring and examining these multiple perspectives.

Learning Connections

Orientation Film and Site Map, Plimoth - Patuxet Plantation; meant as an introduction for field trips, but useful for exploring the online resources
The First Thanksgiving, Scholastic, Teacher Resources -- amazing resources available!
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, Official Tribal site
Thanksgiving Belongs to the Wampanoag, The Atlantic, article

Middle chapter books, nonfiction, 48 pages. This book shares newer research by the Plimoth Plantation about the 1621 harvest celebration. The photographs were taken in October 2000 during a 3-day reenactment of the event.