For over 50 years, Native American communities have gathered in Plymouth, Massachusetts on Thanksgiving to participate in the National Day of Mourning. This event commemorates a speech by Frank “Wamsutta” James that was suppressed in 1970 during the 350-year anniversary celebration of the Mayflower’s arrival. The speech highlights the harsh realities of Native American history since the colonial era compared to the shorter history of white settlers in America.
During the first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621, the Wampanoag people and Plymouth colonists did not actually plan to feast together, and the event was not initially harmonious. The holiday perpetuates myths of happy Natives and Pilgrims feasting together, erasing the true history of the Wampanoag’s suffering and assistance to the settlers.
The Thanksgiving myth became part of national nostalgia and was used to support the concept of Manifest Destiny. President Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday in 1863 to foster unity in the country. The story ignores the first contact tribes had with settlers, their role in aiding the pilgrims, and the hardships they faced afterward.
The National Day of Mourning serves as a platform for Indigenous peoples from around the world to speak about the challenges they face and to highlight the importance of traditional ecological knowledge. This year’s event will include speakers discussing environmental issues, as well as a focus on supporting Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The message from Indigenous peoples is consistent: the world needs to prioritize Indigenous knowledge and move away from fossil fuel extraction economies.
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