The arrival of each holiday season in the U.S. brings the inevitable retelling, and mistelling, of the “first Thanksgiving.” Via history books, school plays and a beloved Charlie Brown special, children are still being exposed to a fictionalized version of what happened in Plymouth over 400 years ago.
According to the common tale, which is riddled with historical inaccuracies, the local Native American tribe and English colonists peacefully shared a feast to celebrate their new friendship and a successful harvest. In reality, the arrival of the Mayflower wasn’t the Wampanoags’ first contact with Europeans and, as a result, some tribal members could already speak English.
And although their leader did reach out to the Pilgrims, he was seeking to create an alliance with them, hoping for mutual protection from rival Native American tribes. At the same time, the Pilgrims needed the Wampanoags to survive. They were saved from starvation as the native tribe taught them how to hunt and plant and made the 1621 harvest meal possible.
Peace with the Pilgrims however was short-lived.
In the decades that followed, the Wampanoag gradually lost their autonomy, their lands and many lost their lives due to disease brought by the Europeans, massacres and continued colonization. And, as westward expansion and Manifest Destiny took hold, other tribes across the continent suffered the same tragic fate.
The romanticized version of the first Thanksgiving was created centuries later.
Tribal President Protects Traditions
Being aware of the importance of accurate history, Rudy Ortega Jr., tribal president of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, has patiently received media that typically seeks out native people only once a year during the holiday and more recently during the month of November, now deemed Native American Heritage Month.
He doesn’t view Thanksgiving as a holiday to celebrate gratitude. While he knows people of all races and cultures who celebrate the day – including Native Americans – Ortega Jr. said he views it as an occasion to enjoy spending time in community with loved ones.
“Some tribal people do celebrate Thanksgiving, and some tribes may even give away turkeys to help feed people during this time,” he explained. “But for myself – being from a tribe that has faced almost complete genocide, and is always looking at how we can sustain and protect our tribal cultures and traditional ways – I look at [Thanksgiving] as a time to celebrate family.”
During this holiday season, Ortega Jr. said that he and fellow tribal members also try to focus on providing accurate information and “ensuring that the truth comes out about Thanksgiving.”
For his tribe and many other indigenous communities, their chosen date to commemorate the concept of gratitude is on the winter solstice, which typically falls on Dec. 21, is the shortest day of the year and marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
“In our tribe, the winter solstice is when everybody in the tribe comes together for drinks, food, and sharing with each other,” said Ortega Jr., who described it as preparation for the winter season.
“Traditionally it was about ensuring that our families have enough food – to make sure that the gathering of the harvest [and] the hunting were done well,” he added. “It’s about making sure that our families would be safe as we are coming into the harshness of the coldest season.”
The winter solstice is about “taking a break to celebrate culture and family, and breaking bread together,” said Ortega Jr.
Shifting Attitudes About Native Culture
Despite lingering misconceptions about Thanksgiving Day, Ortega said he has witnessed a growing acknowledgement about the true facts related to the holiday. He believes there are shifting attitudes about Native Americans as a whole, including a greater appreciation for their culture and contributions to this country.
“Over the last 20 years or so, I think overall that governments and society in general have started to [accept] the entire month of November as Native American Heritage Month [and] have embraced more than just the Thanksgiving portion of it,” said Ortega Jr.
“Twenty years ago I remember I used to talk to mainstream media about Thanksgiving and it was more about having to explain that … we’re not those [stereotypes] as they’ve often portrayed us,” he continued. And as positive changes continue, Ortega said their approach to sharing indigenous history has become “less about resistance and more about education.”
“We’re seeing more people embracing indigenous culture across the board [and] as a result we’re seeing more compassion,” he said.
There is also more of an effort for people to acknowledge native tribes with land acknowledgment statements prior to public events. These formal announcements are intended to recognize and offer respect to the original people and their surviving descendants who are tribal members today.
Another positive change has been the growing number of U.S. states now observing Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the second Monday in October, noted Ortega Jr. As of October 2024, at least 18 states and Washington D.C. are officially recognizing the new holiday in lieu of Columbus Day.
“Many states are now doing this to reflect the understanding that there were people here long before Columbus sailed,” he said.
The point is made that it is incorrect to claim a “discovery” was made when native people inhabited the Americas for thousands of years prior to any Europeans arriving. The fictitious story that Columbus “discovered” America is still repeated although the explorer never stepped foot in North America and may have landed in the Bahamas or possibly the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.
Many efforts have been made to remove Columbus statues from parks and other public spaces. In 2018, Ortega Jr. with other members of the LA City/County Native American Commission and hundreds of supporters successfully campaigned to remove the Christopher Columbus statue from downtown Grand Park. Columbus and other “explorers” were at the helm of destroying indigenous civilizations that already existed.
History books used in K-12 schools still have a long way to go toward fully teaching Native American history accurately. School children in elementary schools across the country are still making crafts to dress up as Pilgrims and “Indians,” wearing headdresses and feathers, which maintains the myths.
Ortega Jr. believes they are slowly improving. After years of many tribes advocating for the removal of elementary school curriculum about the California missions, there has been progress in recent years, he said.
The once commonplace fourth-grade assignment of creating small-scale replicas of the missions, which focused largely on their architecture, has given way to a new framework adopted by the California Department of Education. Now the mission curriculum is directed to include information about the harsh conditions endured by Native Americans at the missions, including “forced labor and separation from traditional ways of life.”
In addition, in September Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill requiring public schools to teach elementary, middle or high school students about Spanish colonization and the California gold rush, including lessons about the mistreatment and contributions of tribal people.
And a major change will occur starting Jan. 1, 2025: the state Department of Education will be required to consult with native tribes when updating history and social studies curriculum.
“As Native people,” said Ortega, “we look forward to ways we can help educate people.”
For more information on the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and their educational, cultural and community programs, go to: www.tataviam-nsn.us.