The First Thanksgiving

From Blissfully Ignorant to Disillusioned to Hopefully Honest

My "First Thanksgiving" Journey

How do you feel when you read the following phrase?

The First Thanksgiving

Does your tummy rumble? Do cartoon images of Pilgrims and Native Americans pop into your mind? Do you cringe?

Growing up, I was taught that the first Thanksgiving was a celebratory feast between Native Americans and Pilgrims in what later became the United States of America. Later on, I became aware that popular culture was poo-pooing the holiday for its ethnocentric depictions, some even asserting that Thanksgiving was "rooted in white supremacy." See, what really happened was that people were already living in North America, and racist Europeans came and kicked them out of their land.

This year, as a homeschooling mom, I wondered what to tell my preschooler about Thanksgiving. Was it really just about seeing family and eating a whole bunch of foods we don't normally eat?

I picked up some picture books from the library, which reminded me of some details I may have forgotten.

The Thanksgiving Story | This was the book I remembered from my childhood bookshelf. Treacherous. That's right. Many Englishmen died on the Mayflower journey to seek religious freedom.

The Berenstain Bears: Thanskgiving All Around | Squanto. That's right. A Native American who helped the Pilgrims.

Now, as I read these children's tales, I wondered about the parts of the story they weren't telling. So I did some extra research.

Did you know that Squanto (Tisquantum) had been previously kidnapped and sold into slavery—twice—by Englishmen?* I didn't. Then after he managed to return to his homeland, he discovered his entire Patuxant tribe had been wiped out by disease (likely one brought by the earlier English explorers). Still, when he encountered more Englishmen in 1620, he decided to help them! He taught them how to fish and plant corn, and he helped them form an alliance with the Wampanoag tribe. Certainly, without his help, the Pilgrims would have perished.

Photo of Cheyenne boy by Boston Public Library on Unsplash†

I wondered why Squanto would want to help people who looked just like his violent persecutors. It sounded suspiciously like the forgiveness and mercy taught by Jesus. So I read more.

When Squanto was in England, he was exposed to the gospel. And when he was finally freed, it was by men of God—monks. Governor William Bradford called Squanto "a special instrument sent of God for their good, beyond their expectation."* And at his dying hour, he requested prayer that he would go to be with the "Englishman's God in heaven."* While no person can make certain claims about a person's intimacy with Christ or salvific status, this further impressed upon the idea that Squanto demonstrated true Christian charity to those Mayflower Pilgrims.

Upon learning this about Squanto, I was filled with new feelings and words connected with the first Thanksgiving.

Awe. Mercy. Grace. Hope. Unity.

So this year, we are digging a bit deeper into the first Thanksgiving. (While there is a greater conversation to be had around European colonization of North America, we are staying at a preschool level for now.) We are choosing to step into the shoes of someone who demonstrated heroic, christlike character. We are choosing to focus on the insurmountable kindness of the last Patuxant. We are choosing gratitude for the sovereign kindness and providence of the God who orchestrates all things in His perfect timing, bringing people into our lives for our good and His glory.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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*"Squanto: “A Special Instrument of Good Sent by God." The Genevan Foundation.

†This image is not of Squanto or his tribe, as cameras were not invented until the 1800s, and I could locate no drawings of the Patuxant tribe to utilize free of charge. This image was intended to evoke Native American imagery with one of the (hopefully similar) images I could locate.

Featured Photo by Kaboompics.com