Being that I'm American Indian here's some MYTH breaking information about the first Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving wasn't a happy time as what was stated in the history books and taught in school.
Native Americans living today have criticized many of the happy stories that have been told through the years about the first Thanksgiving. They say everyone should learn the truth about what happened after the Europeans arrived in North America.
Most of what we eat or do on Thanksgiving has nothing to do with what happened during the first thanksgiving,when the colonists 'broke bread with the Native Americans.
Settlers from England called Pilgrims are believed to have held the first Thanksgiving meal in 1621. They had arrived in what is now the northeastern United States a year earlier. Soon, more than half had died from disease or lack of food.
Those who survived held a day of thanksgiving. They thanked God for protecting them. They also thanked the Native American Indians who lived in the area. These Indians were part of the Wampanoag tribe. The Wampanoags had helped save the Pilgrims by showing them how to fish and plant crops.
The Pilgrims celebrated for about three days. About ninety Wampanoag Indians joined the celebration. They ate deer, ducks, geese, turkeys and pumpkins. And the two groups made a peace and friendship agreement giving the Pilgrims an area in the forest to build their town.
This friendship did not continue for long. More English settlers came to America. Unlike the Pilgrims, they did not need help from the Indians. Many settlers forgot about the help the Indians had provided. Within a few years, the Indians and the English settlers were at war. Many of the Wampanoags were killed in battle or died from diseases brought by the white people.
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