Reclaiming Thanksgiving: The True Story Behind the Holiday

For many Americans, Thanksgiving is a beloved tradition, filled with turkey, parades, and football. Yet, the story most of us learned about the holiday—a harmonious feast between Pilgrims and Native Americans—paints an incomplete and misleading picture.

The National Museum of the American Indian offers a more accurate account of the 1621 meal shared by the Wampanoag people and English settlers, shedding light on its historical context and the myths that have since evolved.

The True Story of the 1621 Gathering

A “Thanksgiving” meal did take place between the Wampanoag people and English settlers. The "First Thanksgiving" is often portrayed as a friendly harvest celebration where Pilgrims and generic, nameless “Indians” came together to eat and give thanks. But there’s much more to the story.

It’s false that the first Thanksgiving was a celebration in which “friendly” Indians welcomed English settlers to the land. This story is a myth that was sparked in the mid-1800s when English accounts of the 1621 harvest event resurfaced. In truth, the gathering celebrated a successful first harvest that the colonists only achieved thanks to the corn crop provided to them by the Wampanoag people. This celebration was merely a footnote of an ongoing—and politically complex—relationship between the Wampanoag and the settlers.

It’s also false that Thanksgiving is a tradition that has been maintained since the first celebration shared by the Wampanoag and the English settlers. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving in November to celebrate gratitude and unity amidst the turmoil of the Civil War. In the decades that followed, the "First Thanksgiving" myth and the national holiday evolved into a foundational, national story reinforced by memorials, holiday marketing, literature, and school curricula.

Why Reclaiming Thanksgiving Matters

The romanticized story of Thanksgiving perpetuates harmful stereotypes and diminishes the complexity of Native history. Correcting this narrative is about more than historical accuracy—it’s about honoring the voices and experiences of Indigenous peoples.

“Sharing the truth about Thanksgiving helps us understand the resilience and contributions of Native communities,” according to the National Museum of the American Indian. “The story of America is incomplete without it.”