Thread: Cooking the History Books: The Thanksgiving Massacre

Cooking the History Books: The Thanksgiving Massacre


By Laura Elliff, Vice President, Native American Student Association
Republic of Lakotah
November 22, 2009



Is All That Turkey and Stuffing a Celebration of Genocide?

Thanksgiving is a holiday where families gather to share stories, football games are watched on television and a big feast is served. It is also the time of the month when people talk about Native Americans. But does one ever wonder why we celebrate this national holiday? Why does everyone give thanks?

History is never simple. The standard history of Thanksgiving tells us that the “Pilgrims and Indiansâ€

It is true that many Americans killed Indians, but does anyone really know that it was all Americans fault. I would rather imagine that the Indians were not too happy that the Pilgrams were arriving on their lands and like any other peoples tired to defend what was theirs. I wonder, since we were not there if the people welcomed them or not. I am not defending the whites. I am part natvie American but have never studied that part of my lineage. I also wonder, when reading history, how much was slanted by the different sides telling the stories.

Genocidal blood lust rage towards Americans of European ancestry.

W

Originally Posted by agrneydgrl

It is true that many Americans killed Indians, but does anyone really know that it was all Americans fault. I would rather imagine that the Indians were not too happy that the Pilgrams were arriving on their lands and like any other peoples tired to defend what was theirs. I wonder, since we were not there if the people welcomed them or not. I am not defending the whites. I am part natvie American but have never studied that part of my lineage. I also wonder, when reading history, how much was slanted by the different sides telling the stories.

Right. It's hard to tell what the truth about Thanksgiving is. I am sure people were killed, but who knows who started the fighting. If that many people were killed then it must have been very chaotic. Thanksgiving was not declared a holiday till years later. So how do we know that this day of killing really had anything to do with establishing a Thanksgiving holiday? I was under the impression that this was the first Thanksgiving. But apparently it was not established till years later. How then was one connected to the other?