History: Squeaky Clean and Ignorant
At the age of seven I was taught the story of the first Thanksgiving. My class and I were told of the wonders the Pilgrims explored and how kind and peaceful their meeting with the Native Americans was. We dressed up in handmade frocks and pinafores or vests and feathers as we had a feast and played games. We never once considered the accuracy of the history we were taught, nor the implications of the age old legend of the first Thanksgiving. Nor did I, until my junior year of high school, when my history teacher assigned us an assignment on the smallpox pandemic of the Patuxets tribe. That year I learned of the true and horrifying tale of Thanksgiving. While I still celebrate the holiday with my family, …show more content…
He even goes as far to declare it a “National Day of Mourning” amongst his people. James tells how the Natives felt about the settlers and their lands stating that, “The Indian, having been stripped of his power, could only stand by and watch while the white man took his land and used it for his personal gain. This the Indian could not understand; for to him, land was survival, to farm, to hunt, to be enjoyed. It was not to be abused.” (James, Frank B). He goes on to discuss how the Indians were forced to move and change in order to fit in with the white perception amongst the Pilgrims and travelers. He also alludes to how, even though some of the native culture seems to have adapted to the modern, it has not been forgotten.
Conversely, the essay “Thanksgiving: A Native American View” by Jacqueline Keeler argues that Thanksgiving is a day of healing for Native Americas. Keller tells how the Indians who helped the Pilgrims were not just friendly, but did it as a part of their own moral code. According to Keller the tribe believed that to be alive was to give when needed. She describes how the story of the first Thanksgiving shows the greed, evil, and hatred of the Pilgrims, and how we all need to grow and heal from our past. That never acknowledging this leads to more hatred and evil and racism (Keeler,
At the age of seven I was taught the story of the first Thanksgiving. My class and I were told of the wonders the Pilgrims explored and how kind and peaceful their meeting with the Native Americans was. We dressed up in handmade frocks and pinafores or vests and feathers as we had a feast and played games. We never once considered the accuracy of the history we were taught, nor the implications of the age old legend of the first Thanksgiving. Nor did I, until my junior year of high school, when my history teacher assigned us an assignment on the smallpox pandemic of the Patuxets tribe. That year I learned of the true and horrifying tale of Thanksgiving. While I still celebrate the holiday with my family, …show more content…
He even goes as far to declare it a “National Day of Mourning” amongst his people. James tells how the Natives felt about the settlers and their lands stating that, “The Indian, having been stripped of his power, could only stand by and watch while the white man took his land and used it for his personal gain. This the Indian could not understand; for to him, land was survival, to farm, to hunt, to be enjoyed. It was not to be abused.” (James, Frank B). He goes on to discuss how the Indians were forced to move and change in order to fit in with the white perception amongst the Pilgrims and travelers. He also alludes to how, even though some of the native culture seems to have adapted to the modern, it has not been forgotten.
Conversely, the essay “Thanksgiving: A Native American View” by Jacqueline Keeler argues that Thanksgiving is a day of healing for Native Americas. Keller tells how the Indians who helped the Pilgrims were not just friendly, but did it as a part of their own moral code. According to Keller the tribe believed that to be alive was to give when needed. She describes how the story of the first Thanksgiving shows the greed, evil, and hatred of the Pilgrims, and how we all need to grow and heal from our past. That never acknowledging this leads to more hatred and evil and racism (Keeler,