Myth of #Thanksgiving

"Paula Peters, a citizen of the #MashpeeWampanoag Tribe and independent scholar of the history of the #Wampanoag, said the notion that it was just a harmonious celebration is partly a myth.

"'There wasn't an invitation extended to invite the Wampanoag to come and feast with them,' Peters previously told USA TODAY. 'It was really quite by accident, that there were any shared festivities at all.'

"The pilgrims were celebrating their first harvest when they fired off muskets repeatedly, a form of entertainment for the settlers.

"Hearing the blasts, the Wampanoag thought it was a threat. The supreme leader Massasoit Ousamequin assembled a small army of approximately 90 warriors and approached the settlement, much to the surprise of the pilgrims.

"After de-escalating the situation, the pilgrims and the Wampanoag feasted together, though historical texts don't indicate what they might have eaten besides deer hunted by the Wampanoag, as Peters writes in an introduction to 'Of Plimoth Plantation.'

"'The contemporary holiday perpetuates the myths of the Wampanoag and Pilgrim relations,' Peters writes in the book. 'It conjures up Hallmark images of happy Natives and Pilgrims feasting on a cornucopia of corn, pies, and meats, including a fully dressed roast turkey.'"

#Ousamequin #Colonialism #MythOfThanksgiving #WhiteSettlers #RewritingHistory #Pilgrims #NativeAmericans #NativeAmericanHistory