65. THANKSGIVING: Revisiting the Origin Story

This week, as many get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I wanted to revisit the story of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving that many of us learned as kids. Because, I found out as an adult that I didn’t really learn the full story–I learned a mythologized version of it. And I learned that while I heard a lot about the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth, I didn’t know as much about the Wampanoag people who were already in New England, many of whom were living in what is part of Rhode Island today. 

Episode Source Material

Image 9 of Massasoit's town Sowams in Pokanoket, its history, legends and traditions,Massasoit’s Illness, and How Winslow Cured Him - Account of Winslow visiting Massasoit Ousamequin Massasoit, Chief Who Signed Treaty With the Pilgrims, To Be Reburied | Smart News| Smithsonian MagazineSowams Heritage Area BrochureSowams Heritage Area Historical OverviewSowams Lives Four Centuries Later - coastalmags.comThis Once Was Called Sowams - Reporter TodayPokanoket booklet FINAL SMALL.pdfwith Ancient Records of Sowams and Parts Adjacent, illustrated. – Rhode Island History NavigatorSowams: with Ancient Records of Sowams and Parts Adjacent–Illustrated - Written by Thomas W Bicknell, 1908Burr's HillEarly History - Narragansett Indian Tribe. Mount Hope Farm To Celebrate 400 Years Since First Thanksgiving | Bristol, RI PatchAll the Facts About Thanksgiving | Newport, RI PatchProclamation - Thanksgiving Day - 1806, Rhode Island - WallBuildersFor Indigenous people, Thanksgiving represents a day of mourningWhite House Thanksgiving Turkeys in the Roaring '20sHow to Tell the Thanksgiving Story on Its 400th Anniversary | History| Smithsonian MagazineThis tribe helped the Pilgrims survive for their first Thanksgiving. They still regret it 400 years later.Thanksgiving's hidden past: Plymouth in 1621 wasn't close to being the first celebrationWampanoag HistoryTribal chief who signed treaty with Pilgrims to be reburiedPokanoket - WikipediaWampanoag - WikipediaHistory of the Pokanoket TribePokanoket is the name of the Massasoit’s tribe, not “Wampanoag” – Sowams Heritage AreaPokanoket not Wampanoag in 17th century Sowams   June 5, 2020Warren's HistoryBurr’s Hill Pokanoket Royal Burial Ground – Sowams Heritage AreaThe Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage They Imbue | History| Smithsonian MagazineThe true, dark history of Thanksgiving - Potawatomi.orgEverything You Learned About Thanksgiving Is Wrong - The New York TimesThis Land is Their LandCulture — Mashpee Wampanoag TribeIn 1621, the Wampanoag Tribe Had Its Own AgendaOf Patuxet - Colonial Society of MassachusettsThe History of the Pokanoket Tribal Diaspora