Native Americans long time oppression
Thanksgiving is a national holiday that celebrates the union of the Pilgrims and Native Americans. Every November 24th, people gather around their tables to give thanks, a tradition steaming from the original feast. However, the narrative taught throughout schools paints a picture far less gruesome than reality.
Historians still debate when the first Thanksgiving feast occurred, what the terms were, or whether it took place at all. A handful of information is missing that is crucial to understanding the relations between the two parties. And with a blurry history, misinformation, and lack of personal logs, many historians are left to speculate on what happened. Yet, many discovered facts of what transpired suggest that the first few Thanksgiving feasts were not as merry as many assume.
Colonists brought more problems than helpful imports to the Natives when arriving in the New World. One situation was the numerous foreign diseases brought overseas by colonists such as smallpox, chickenpox, influenza, and the common cold. The immune systems and medicines of Natives could not defend them from the illnesses, and many died as a result. Although unintended, it had catastrophic effects on the populations of nearby tribes, aggravating their leaders and civilians on top of any other pre-existing issues they may have had.
“The native Americans suffered through many things, and colonization is a big one,” said DBHS sophomore Berthaniah Bien-Aime. “They pushed them aside as if they’re not human beings when the land was originally theirs. They endured a lot of pain and suffering, and it doesn’t end.”
The colonists had also tried to erase the Native Americans’ culture and religious beliefs by converting them into Christianity, taking their land, and forcing them to adapt to a new uncomfortable way of life. Combined with all the other offences, this caused the two groups to go into a decades-long war. Ending the dispute barbarically, colonists shot Native American leader Metacomet through the heart as they cheered in jubilation three times before displaying his head at Plymouth for 25 years. In the proceeding Thanksgiving, the men who took the Wampanoag leader’s life reveled in triumph as he was dehumanized and propped as a prize of war.
“The Americans had no regard for the people who were there before them,” said DBHS junior Ohana Ramos. “They pursued them for their knowledge of the land, slaughtered their people, disrespected their culture and beliefs, and continue to do so.”
The bloody history between the Pilgrims and Native Americans is a complex story unbeknownst to many Americans. The “Native” in their title is often forgotten as years of belittlement and massacres were washed by inaccurate or prejudiced media. But the truth still stands, as dark and unfortunate as its roots are.
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