What Do Natives Think About Thanksgiving?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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National Day of Mourning plaque


Many Native Americans do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims

and other European settlers. To them, Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their cultures.

What does Thanksgiving mean to natives?

American Indians recognize

Thanksgiving as a day of mourning

. It is a time to remember ancestral history as well as a day to acknowledge and protest the racism and oppression which they continue to experience today.

Do Native Americans celebrate Thanksgiving?

National Day of Mourning plaque


Many Native Americans do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims

and other European settlers. To them, Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their cultures.

Why should we not celebrate Thanksgiving?

They hate Thanksgiving and don't celebrate it because they view it as religious or a where the pilgrims stole the land from the Native Americans. … As mentioned before, most people that don't celebrate Thanksgiving do so because it

is viewed as a national day of mourning

, according to Independent.

What is the truth behind Thanksgiving?

Others pinpoint 1637 as the true origin of Thanksgiving, owing to the fact that

the Massachusetts colony governor John Winthrop declared a day to celebrate colonial soldiers who had just slaughtered hundreds of Pequot men, women, and children

in what is now Mystic, Connecticut.

What did the Pilgrims do to the natives?

What they found when they arrived was a village that had been decimated by disease. While the Wampanoags considered the site a cursed place of death and tragedy, the Pilgrims saw the

deaths of the natives as a sign from God that this was where they should settle

. And so began Plimoth Plantation.

Do natives celebrate 4th of July?

Native American groups

celebrate their own holidays and hold ceremonies

. Some Native Americans see the Fourth of July as a chance to hold ceremonies to celebrate their own traditions. According to the National Museum of the American Indian, a disproportionate number of tribal gatherings take place on July 4.

Do Native Americans pay taxes?

Do American Indians and Alaska Natives pay taxes?

Yes

. They pay the same taxes as other citizens with the following exceptions: Federal income taxes are not levied on income from trust lands held for them by the U.S.

What are 5 interesting facts about Thanksgiving?

  • The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 over a three day harvest festival. …
  • Turkey wasn't on the menu at the first Thanksgiving. …
  • Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3, 1863. …
  • The history of U.S. presidents pardoning turkeys is patchy.

Why do Americans celebrate Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving Day, annual national holiday in the United States and Canada celebrating

the harvest and other blessings of the past year

. Americans generally believe that their Thanksgiving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people.

What can I do instead of Thanksgiving?

  • National Day of Mourning. …
  • Unthanksgiving Day. …
  • National Day of Listening. …
  • Native American Heritage Month. …
  • Restorative Justice Week. …
  • National Family Week. …
  • National Game and Puzzle Week. …
  • National Farm-City Week.

What is Thanksgiving in the Bible?


the act of giving thanks

; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God. an expression of thanks, especially to God. a public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor or kindness. a day set apart for giving thanks to God.

Why do we eat turkey on Thanksgiving?

For meat,

the Wampanoag brought deer, and the Pilgrims provided wild “fowl

.” Strictly speaking, that “fowl” could have been turkeys, which were native to the area, but historians think it was probably ducks or geese. …

Did the Pilgrims eat with the natives?

You can see throughout their journals that they were always nervous and, unfortunately, when they were nervous they were very aggressive. So the Pilgrims didn't invite the Wampanoags to sit down and eat turkey and drink some beer? …

People did eat together

[but not in what is portrayed as “the first Thanksgiving].

How many Native Americans are left?

Today, there are

over five million Native Americans

in the United States, 78% of whom live outside reservations: California, Arizona and Oklahoma have the largest populations of Native Americans in the United States.

What killed the Pilgrims?

What killed so many people so quickly? The symptoms were a yellowing of the skin, pain and cramping, and profuse bleeding, especially from the nose. A recent analysis concludes the culprit was a disease called

leptospirosis

, caused by leptospira bacteria. Spread by rat urine.

Maria Kunar
Author
Maria Kunar
Maria is a cultural enthusiast and expert on holiday traditions. With a focus on the cultural significance of celebrations, Maria has written several blogs on the history of holidays and has been featured in various cultural publications. Maria's knowledge of traditions will help you appreciate the meaning behind celebrations.