Thanksgiving is a holiday for some in the United States, and a day of mourning for others

“We want real history to be told in schools. It wasn’t pretty and we shouldn’t describe it horribly in textbooks, but kids need to know what really happened during and after Thanksgiving. “

According to the Wampanoags, the indigenous people who welcomed pilgrims from Europe 400 years ago, there were no turkeys. Nor Indians with headscarves. In fact, contrary to popular belief, the tribe was not even invited to the first harvest feast in 1621. When these devout refugees – who were persecuted in England – celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time 400 years ago, things looked very different. in the United States today.

For Wampanoags, who have pilgrimage fathers That first year led to the beginning of the genocide, the occupation of their lands and the erasure of their culture. What is a national holiday for the rest of America is a day of national mourning for the Wampanoag and other indigenous tribes.

“We are the first people in this country. And the memory of what happened can be painful. We are marginalized and distorted. Sometimes we feel invisible. But we want to show people that we are still here, not hidden,” said President Hering Bond Wampanoag Melissa Ferretti.