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What would have happened to the settlers if the Native Americans had taken Donald Trump's advice to build "a big beautiful wall"? (Photo: Mr.TinDC/flickr/cc)
What Competing Thanksgiving Tales Share
The competing tales of hosting the first feast all center on the kindness of Native Americans.
Nov 26, 2015
Thanksgiving is here. Let's eat!
America's most food-focused holiday traces its roots back to the abundant feast that Pilgrims and Indians enjoyed together in the fall of 1621.
Only half of the Mayflower Pilgrims who'd arrived at Plymouth Rock the previous December survived their first year in the New World. (It was "new," of course, only to those undocumented immigrants from England -- not the locals).
Still, to celebrate and offer thanks for their survival, the newcomers planned a communal meal following the fall harvest. And in appreciation for being taught by the Wampanoag people how to raise corn and gather the region's seafood, they invited Massasoit, the tribal leader, to join them in what's now Massachusetts.
He did -- and surprised the hosts by arriving with 90 members of his community.
But the Wampanoag party didn't come empty handed. In fact, they brought much of the fare for what became a three-day banquet featuring a spread that probably included venison, duck, geese, wild turkeys, eels, mussels, lobster, gooseberries, plums, cornmeal pudding, popcorn balls, barley beer, and fortified wine. And you thought youover-ate at Thanksgiving.
This wasn't the only precursor of our annual November food-a-palooza. Virginians assert that the truly first feast that brought together English settlers and Native Americans took place in their state, at least two years before Massasoit's show of hospitality. Texans claim that the tradition began near El Paso in 1598, when the Manso and Piro tribes roasted ducks, geese, and fish over an open fire to give sustenance to a lost and bedraggled group of Spanish colonizers.
Meanwhile, Floridians insist that the firstest-of-all Thanksgivings in what's now the United States took place even earlier in 1565, when the Timucuan people shared a stew of salt pork and garbanzo beans with Spanish settlers at St. Augustine.
Ultimately, European settlers and early Americans didn't repay these natives with much kindness. But these historical tidbits raise an interesting question to ponder this Thanksgiving: What would have happened to those English and Spanish settlers if the Native Americans had taken Donald Trump's advice to build "a big beautiful wall"?
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
Thanksgiving is here. Let's eat!
America's most food-focused holiday traces its roots back to the abundant feast that Pilgrims and Indians enjoyed together in the fall of 1621.
Only half of the Mayflower Pilgrims who'd arrived at Plymouth Rock the previous December survived their first year in the New World. (It was "new," of course, only to those undocumented immigrants from England -- not the locals).
Still, to celebrate and offer thanks for their survival, the newcomers planned a communal meal following the fall harvest. And in appreciation for being taught by the Wampanoag people how to raise corn and gather the region's seafood, they invited Massasoit, the tribal leader, to join them in what's now Massachusetts.
He did -- and surprised the hosts by arriving with 90 members of his community.
But the Wampanoag party didn't come empty handed. In fact, they brought much of the fare for what became a three-day banquet featuring a spread that probably included venison, duck, geese, wild turkeys, eels, mussels, lobster, gooseberries, plums, cornmeal pudding, popcorn balls, barley beer, and fortified wine. And you thought youover-ate at Thanksgiving.
This wasn't the only precursor of our annual November food-a-palooza. Virginians assert that the truly first feast that brought together English settlers and Native Americans took place in their state, at least two years before Massasoit's show of hospitality. Texans claim that the tradition began near El Paso in 1598, when the Manso and Piro tribes roasted ducks, geese, and fish over an open fire to give sustenance to a lost and bedraggled group of Spanish colonizers.
Meanwhile, Floridians insist that the firstest-of-all Thanksgivings in what's now the United States took place even earlier in 1565, when the Timucuan people shared a stew of salt pork and garbanzo beans with Spanish settlers at St. Augustine.
Ultimately, European settlers and early Americans didn't repay these natives with much kindness. But these historical tidbits raise an interesting question to ponder this Thanksgiving: What would have happened to those English and Spanish settlers if the Native Americans had taken Donald Trump's advice to build "a big beautiful wall"?
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
Thanksgiving is here. Let's eat!
America's most food-focused holiday traces its roots back to the abundant feast that Pilgrims and Indians enjoyed together in the fall of 1621.
Only half of the Mayflower Pilgrims who'd arrived at Plymouth Rock the previous December survived their first year in the New World. (It was "new," of course, only to those undocumented immigrants from England -- not the locals).
Still, to celebrate and offer thanks for their survival, the newcomers planned a communal meal following the fall harvest. And in appreciation for being taught by the Wampanoag people how to raise corn and gather the region's seafood, they invited Massasoit, the tribal leader, to join them in what's now Massachusetts.
He did -- and surprised the hosts by arriving with 90 members of his community.
But the Wampanoag party didn't come empty handed. In fact, they brought much of the fare for what became a three-day banquet featuring a spread that probably included venison, duck, geese, wild turkeys, eels, mussels, lobster, gooseberries, plums, cornmeal pudding, popcorn balls, barley beer, and fortified wine. And you thought youover-ate at Thanksgiving.
This wasn't the only precursor of our annual November food-a-palooza. Virginians assert that the truly first feast that brought together English settlers and Native Americans took place in their state, at least two years before Massasoit's show of hospitality. Texans claim that the tradition began near El Paso in 1598, when the Manso and Piro tribes roasted ducks, geese, and fish over an open fire to give sustenance to a lost and bedraggled group of Spanish colonizers.
Meanwhile, Floridians insist that the firstest-of-all Thanksgivings in what's now the United States took place even earlier in 1565, when the Timucuan people shared a stew of salt pork and garbanzo beans with Spanish settlers at St. Augustine.
Ultimately, European settlers and early Americans didn't repay these natives with much kindness. But these historical tidbits raise an interesting question to ponder this Thanksgiving: What would have happened to those English and Spanish settlers if the Native Americans had taken Donald Trump's advice to build "a big beautiful wall"?
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