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The First Thanksgiving: A Shared Feast

The First Thanksgiving tells the story of the historic harvest feast shared between Native Americans and early European settlers in 1621. The Wampanoag people had lived in the area for over 12,000 years before European settlers arrived. In 1620, English Puritans settled in Plymouth after a long voyage, and the Wampanoag helped the struggling settlers by teaching them farming techniques. The following fall, the Wampanoag joined the settlers for a three-day feast to celebrate the harvest, sharing deer meat, corn, and other foods. This event is considered one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations.

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85 views2 pages

The First Thanksgiving: A Shared Feast

The First Thanksgiving tells the story of the historic harvest feast shared between Native Americans and early European settlers in 1621. The Wampanoag people had lived in the area for over 12,000 years before European settlers arrived. In 1620, English Puritans settled in Plymouth after a long voyage, and the Wampanoag helped the struggling settlers by teaching them farming techniques. The following fall, the Wampanoag joined the settlers for a three-day feast to celebrate the harvest, sharing deer meat, corn, and other foods. This event is considered one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations.

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The First Thanksgiving

Native Americans and early settlers (de eerste mensen die van Europa
naar Amerika verhuisden) said thank you together with this party.
On the fourth Thursday of November, people in the United States
celebrate Thanksgiving, a national holiday for the settlers and Native
Americans who came together to have a historic harvest feast.

NATIVE AMERICANS
Long before first Europeans came to the United States , the area was
inhabited (bewoond) by many Native American tribes (stammen). The
area (gebied) surrounding the site of the first Thanksgiving, had been
the home of the Wampanoag people for over 12,000 years. The native
people knew the land well and had fished, hunted, and harvested for
thousands of generations.

THE SETTLERS
The people who lived at the Plymouth Colony were a group
of English people who wanted to break away from the Church of England.
They travelled across the Atlantic Ocean in 1620 to go live in a "New
World." Carrying 101 men, women, and children, the Mayflower travelled
the ocean for 66 days and was supposed to land where New York City is
now located. But wind forced the group to settle at what is now Cape
Cod, Massachusetts.

SETTLING AND EXPLORING


As the Puritans prepared for winter, they gathered (verzamelen)
anything they could find.

One day, a leader of the Abenaki people and Squanto visited the settlers.
Squanto was a Wampanoag who had seen other settlers and knew
English. Squanto helped the settlers grow corn (maïs) and use fish to
fertilize (vruchtbaar maken) their fields. After several meetings, a formal
deal was made between the settlers and the native people, and in March
1621, they joined together to protect (beschermen) each other from
other tribes.

THE CELEBRATION
One day that fall (herfst), four settlers were sent to hunt for food for a
harvest celebration (viering). The Wampanoag heard gunshots and
warned their leader, Massasoit, who thought the English might be
preparing (voorbereiden) for war. Massasoit visited the English town with
90 of his men to see if the war rumor (gerucht) was true.

Soon (snel) after their visit, the Native Americans realized that the
English were only hunting for the harvest (oogst) celebration. Massasoit
sent some of his own men to hunt deer (herten) for the feast and for
three days, the English and native men, women, and children ate
together. The meal consisted (bestond uit) of deer, corn, and roasted
meat, different from today's traditional Thanksgiving feast . They played
ball games, sang, and danced.

NATIVE AMERICANS AND THANKSGIVING


The peace between the Native Americans and settlers lasted for only a
generation. The Wampanoag people do not share in the popular
reverence for the traditional New England Thanksgiving. For them, the
holiday is a reminder of betrayal and bloodshed. Since 1970, many
native people have gathered at the statue of Massasoit in Plymouth,
Massachusetts, each Thanksgiving Day to remember their ancestors and
the strength of the Wampanoag.

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