400 years after 'First Thanksgiving,' tribe that fed the Pilgrims fights for survival
Federal State And Tribal Powers,Native Americans
Depending on where you grew up and went to school, you probably learned a different version of the first Thanksgiving.
Generally, it goes something like this: The Pilgrims were facing a rough winter in Massachusetts when a tribe of Native Americans came to their aid, showing them how to plant native crops and forging a future of peace and cooperation between the two groups. In some stories, the Pilgrims gave them something in return (the details vary).
"I think the only way forward is to understand the history the way that it happened," Steven Peters, a spokesman for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, told USA Today. "At that point, it really changes your perspective."
In recent years, Americans' understanding of history has only begun to acknowledge the oppression, genocide and trauma Native Americans suffered at the hands of European settlers. In several states and parts of the country, Columbus Day has been renamed Indigenous Peoples' Day and dozens of Christopher Columbus statues were removed along with those of slaveholders and racists this summer.
Related Coverage
AllSides Picks
Headline Roundup
ICE Detains Conservative Influencer Milo Yiannopoulos in Louisiana
August 28th, 2026
Headline Roundup
USAID Report Claims Over 100 UNRWA Employees Participated in October 7 Attacks
August 28th, 2026
Bias
Will Data Centers Create Blackouts? Examining Media Bias and Misinformation on The Tucker Carlson Show
Julie Mastrine
August 28th, 2026
The Insight
The Insight: How the Lindsay Clancy Case Became a Misinformation Chamber
AllSides Staff
August 28th, 2026