You’ve probably been told the story of the first Thanksgiving: a peaceful feast, a shared table, a moment of harmony between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag. The version most of us learned in school is warm, simple, and comforting. But what if that story was never true? What if the myth we grew up with was designed to make us feel unified, not to make us remember?

For centuries, U.S. presidents used Thanksgiving as a cultural tool—something to bring a divided nation together, boost morale, or stimulate the economy. And by the late 1800s, schools rewrote the narrative entirely, transforming a three-day survival feast into a patriotic bedtime story about friendship.

I’ve spent years exploring the power of the stories we repeat and how they shape our collective energy. This one might be the biggest distortion of all. And understanding its roots matters—not to create guilt, but to create clarity, alignment, and a more honest form of gratitude.

What Really Happened in 1621

The harvest gathering in 1621 wasn’t called Thanksgiving. Fifty or so surviving English settlers, coming off a winter that killed nearly half their community, celebrated their first successful harvest. About ninety Wampanoag men joined them—not for unity or goodwill, but as part of a fragile peace agreement led by Massasoit.

There were no pies, no potatoes, and no stuffing. It was a meal of survival and diplomacy.

At the time, the word “Thanksgiving” didn’t even refer to feasting. It meant a day of prayer and fasting, usually in response to hardship or perceived divine intervention.

How the Myth Was Built

Over the next centuries, colonists continued to displace, enslave, and kill Native peoples. Yet Thanksgiving days were occasionally declared—but always for military victories or religious observances, never in honor of Indigenous relationships.

The first national Thanksgiving proclamation came in 1789, when George Washington called for a day of gratitude for the new Constitution. The Pilgrims were never mentioned.

During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a permanent national holiday to unify a nation in crisis. Again, no reference to Native Americans—while simultaneously approving the mass execution of 38 Dakota men, the largest in U.S. history.

By the time Franklin D. Roosevelt fixed the holiday on the fourth Thursday of November in 1941, it had become a tool for national morale and economic stimulation. Retailers wanted a longer shopping season; Roosevelt delivered.

So where did the story of Pilgrims and Indians sharing a peaceful feast come from?

Schoolrooms.

In the late 1800s, as the U.S. expanded across stolen land and Native children were forced into boarding schools, educators began using Thanksgiving pageants to teach patriotism. Children dressed up as Pilgrims and “Indians,” acting out a story that never existed. By the early 1900s, the myth was cemented in textbooks, pageants, and eventually Norman Rockwell paintings.

I remember my own childhood pageants—playing Pilgrims and Indians, never knowing the real cost behind the costumes.

Reclaiming the Truth

Since the 1970s, Native voices have actively reclaimed the truth. The Wampanoag people still live in Massachusetts and continue to share their history of survival and sovereignty. Every year, Indigenous people and allies gather in Plymouth for the National Day of Mourning, honoring both loss and resilience.

And yet, for many Americans, Thanksgiving is a time for family, reflection, and connection.

Both truths can exist.

Gratitude is powerful medicine, but only when it is honest. Gratitude that acknowledges the full story—beauty and brutality, resilience and rupture—allows healing to begin.

A New Way Forward

This Thanksgiving, as you gather with the people you love, consider the stories that shaped you. Consider the ones that shaped this nation. And consider how telling the truth—quietly, respectfully, and openly—creates room for deeper remembrance and deeper connection.

The stories we tell shape the healing we allow. May your gratitude this year be spacious enough to include truth, remembrance, and a more grounded understanding of how we arrived here.

Stay curious, grounded, and gutsy enough to rewrite the stories that shape us.

—

Thanks & Attribution
This episode draws on historical research about Thanksgiving’s evolution — including presidential proclamations, educational practices, and Indigenous perspectives.

Wampanoag / Indigenous-Centered Resources

• Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe — official site & cultural programs
  https://mashpeewampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/

• Plimoth Patuxet Museums: Wampanoag Perspectives on the Plymouth / Pokanoket Agreement
  https://plimoth.org/yath/unit-2/wampanoag-perspectives-on-the-plymouth-pokanoket-agreement

• The Messenger — Paula Peters, essay via the Smithsonian / National Museum of the American Indian
  https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/thanksgiving/assets/Wampanoag%20Messenger%20Essay.pdf

• National Museum of the American Indian — Thanksgiving / Indigenous-centered resources
  https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/thanksgiving/additional_resources.html

• Plimoth Patuxet Museums — Wampanoag Indigenous Program
  https://plimoth.org/blog/the-wampanoag-indigenous-program

• Plymouth 400 / Wampanoag History Exhibit (“Our Story”)
  https://www.plymouth400inc.org/our-story-exhibit-wampanoag-history/

Presidential / Legal References

Item	What It Covers	Link
George Washington’s first national Thanksgiving Proclamation (1789)	Washington issued a national proclamation of thanksgiving for November 26, 1789. (George Washington’s Mount Vernon)	https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-first-president/thanksgiving (George Washington’s Mount Vernon)
Evolution of Thanksgiving proclamations	Overview of Presidential proclamations over time (Washington → Madison → Lincoln → FDR) (The American Presidency Project)	https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/analyses/evolution-the-thanksgiving-proclamation (The American Presidency Project)
Lincoln & Thanksgiving History	National Park Service overview of Lincoln’s proclamations history (National Park Service)	https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/lincoln-and-thanksgiving.htm (National Park Service)
Thanksgiving as a Federal Holiday (Congress / FDR / dates shifting)	Archive / U.S. Archives history of how the federal holiday came to be fixed (Pieces of History)	https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2023/11/20/thanksgiving-as-a-federal-holiday/ (Pieces of History)
Gilder-Lerhman Institute — Historical essay on the Thanksgiving holiday	Provides historical context about how the holiday evolved, including Sarah Josepha Hale’s role (Gilder Lehrman Institute)	https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/history-thanksgiving-holiday (Gilder Lehrman Institute)

Pageants / School Textbook / Cultural Myth References

Item	What It Shows	Link
Smithsonian Magazine — The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story…	Describes how Thanksgiving pageants held in schools perpetuate myth; details on pageants & stereotypes. (Smithsonian Magazine)	https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/thanksgiving-myth-and-what-we-should-be-teaching-kids-180973655/ (Smithsonian Magazine)
Time Magazine — “What Kids Are Learning About Thanksgiving Is Changing”	Discusses how Thanksgiving is taught in classrooms, and how social-studies standards have shifted. (TIME)	https://time.com/5725168/thanksgiving-history-lesson/ (TIME)
Wikipedia — Thanksgiving (United States)	Includes mention of pageants at schools reinventing the “First Thanksgiving” myth; how holiday materials / pageants reinforced Pilgrim-Indian narrative. (Wikipedia)	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States) (Wikipedia)
Blog / museum education reflections on Thanksgiving pageants	“Thanksgiving: How We Are Changing the Way We Teach Kids…” — notes children dressing up as Pilgrims / Native Americans in pageants. (lookingbackmovingforwardinmuseumeducation.com)	https://lookingbackmovingforwardinmuseumeducation.com/2019/11/25/thanksgiving-how-we-are-changing-the-way-we-teach-kids-why-we-celebrate/ (lookingbackmovingforwardinmuseumeducation.com)