Is thanksgiving wrong?

Is Thanksgiving a problematic?

Most people of color in the United States realize that Thanksgiving is a wildly problematic celebration of the exploitation and genocide of native peoples, yet many of us still celebrate it.

What’s the real story behind Thanksgiving?

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states.

Is Thanksgiving really about pilgrims?

Historians long considered the first Thanksgiving to have taken place in 1621, when the Mayflower pilgrims who founded the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts sat down for a three-day meal with the Wampanoag. … Early illustrations of the first Thanksgiving show a friendly meal between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag in 1621.

Is Thanksgiving offensive to indigenous?

“Thanksgiving day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the relentless assault on Native culture,” says the United American Indians of New England. They’ve marked the occasion as a day of mourning for 48 years, according to Native Hope.

Why should we not celebrate Thanksgiving?

They hate Thanksgiving and don’t celebrate it because they view it as religious or a holiday where the pilgrims stole the land from the Native Americans. … As mentioned before, most people that don’t celebrate Thanksgiving do so because it is viewed as a national day of mourning, according to Independent.

Why shouldn’t we celebrate Columbus Day?

In recent decades, Native Americans and other groups have protested the celebration of an event that resulted in the colonization of the Americas, the beginnings of the transatlantic slave trade and the deaths of millions from murder and disease.

How many natives were killed by colonizers?

European settlers killed 56 million indigenous people over about 100 years in South, Central and North America, causing large swaths of farmland to be abandoned and reforested, researchers at University College London, or UCL, estimate.

How do you explain Thanksgiving to a child?

Why is turkey eaten on Thanksgiving?

But there is no indication that turkey was served. … For meat, the Wampanoag brought deer, and the Pilgrims provided wild “fowl.” Strictly speaking, that “fowl” could have been turkeys, which were native to the area, but historians think it was probably ducks or geese.

Do Native Americans celebrate Thanksgiving?

“To most Natives, Thanksgiving is not a celebration,” Zotigh says. … They gather at the feet of a statue of Grand Sachem Massasoit of the Wampanoag to remember and reflect, in the hope that America will never forget the sacrifices and tragedies of its Native people.

Why did the Pilgrims celebrate the first Thanksgiving?

Most Americans think the three-day celebration between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts was the first Thanksgiving. … Governor William Bradford declared a day of Thanksgiving to give thanks for the rain that had ended a drought and saved their harvest.

Do Native Americans have facial hair?

Yes, they do have facial and body hair but very little, and they tend to pluck it from their faces as often as it grows. … Concerning hair, American Indian anthropologist Julianne Jennings of Eastern Connecticut State University says natives grew hair on their heads to varying degrees, depending on the tribe.

What do natives think about Thanksgiving?

The so-called first Thanksgiving has been celebrated and taught to schoolchildren as the origin story of what would later become the United States. But many Native Americans say Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the slaughter of millions of Indigenous people and the theft of their lands by outsiders.

Do Native Americans pay taxes?

Do Indians pay taxes? All Indians are subject to federal income taxes. As sovereign entities, tribal governments have the power to levy taxes on reservation lands. … However, whenever a member of an Indian tribe conducts business off the reservation, that person, like everyone else, pays both state and local taxes.