When most people think of the first Thanksgiving, Pilgrims andNative Americans joining together in an expression of friendshipand thanks comes to mind.
But that image may be very inaccurate, according to some NativeAmerican groups.
"The first true Thanksgiving occurred after the murder ofhundreds of Native American men, women and children. Years later,Gov. John Winthrop (of the Massachusetts Bay Colony), declared thefirst Thanksgiving holiday as a way of celebrating the defeat ofthe Indians," said Rita Colston, treasurer of American IndianAssociation of Millington.
The traditional story of the first Thanksgiving is of Squantoand other Native Americans participating in a three-day feast withthe recently arrived Pilgrims. The festive atmosphere on PlymouthRock was a celebration of gratefulness for the Pilgrims survivingin the new land with the help of the Native Americans.
"At the first Thanksgiving, it was likely there were moreIndians than Pilgrims," said Joseph Hawes, professor of history atThe University of Memphis. "It seems to have been an occasionkeeping in tradition with an English harvest festival. They(Pilgrims) maybe borrowed ideas from the Native Americans, whoregularly celebrated occasions with large feasts."
Members of the American Indian Association of Millington andother Native American groups don't dispute the story of thePilgrims Squanto and the Native Americans. However, they say thefirst official Thanksgiving occurred due to a different reason.
"The most common misconception is that the 'party' includedIndians. The first Thanksgiving was a celebration of the killing ofIndians," said Tom Kunesh, a Sioux and professor of Native Americanreligion at Middle Tennessee State University and The University ofTennessee at Chattanooga.
Although the Native Americans' version of the first Thanksgivingis one that is seldom told in American history classes, somehistory professors do agree that the traditional Thanksgiving imageis not an accurate one.
"Native Americans regard it (Thanksgiving) as a day of mourningand not celebration because the peace eventually gave way towarfare and the opposition of their people," Hawes said.
Among Native Americans, Thanksgiving is not regarded as a day ofthanks but as a day of remembrance, said Kunesh, chairman of theTennessee Native American Convention and a member of theChattanooga Intertribal Association.
"Few Indians think of it as a celebration," he said. "It's moreof the beginning of a resistance to us."
There are also some less dramatic differences between how thefirst Thanksgiving was actually celebrated and how most peoplethink it was celebrated, Hawes said. For example, the traditionalturkey may not have been the largest part of the meal.
"It's less likely that they ate turkey," Hawes said. "Theyprobably ate fish."
Despite their beliefs about the first Thanksgiving and itscauses, Colston and Kunesh said they still celebrate theholiday.
"We have what are considered the traditional foods turkey, cornand sweet potatoes," Colston said.
Kunesh and his family often gather in Minnesota for theholiday.
"My family doesn't go around talking about it (Thanksgiving),"he said. "For my family, it's a time for us to get together and bearound each other."
