Harvest festivals were common events in Native American and European cultures well before the 1600’s. Why did the harvest festival of 1621 become “The First” Thanksgiving, what was the true relationship between Wampanoags and Europeans at that time, and why have so many facts been omitted from history books?
We sort through fiction and fact with David Vanderhoop, Wampanoag native and co-founder, with his wife Saskia, of Sassafras Earth Education; and David Silverman, professor of Native American and Colonial American History at George Washington University. His just published book is titled This Land is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving.
