Appreciating All Sides of the Thanksgiving Story (+ Reads To Do So!)

It’s that time of year again! The weather is crisp and cool, the sun goes down at 5:30 every evening, and the kitchen smells of pumpkin spice. Halloween has just passed, and the excitement of making Christmas preparations and putting ornaments on pine trees has taken over everyone’s mind. However, we mustn’t discount the delicious and family-oriented national holiday that is quickly approaching: Thanksgiving! A time to feast on turkey and

secret family recipes, a time to laugh and to come together, and a time to step back from the harsh whirlwind of life and remember what it means to be truly grateful. It is true that the commercialized version of Thanksgiving which bases the celebration around love and gratitude is a beautiful concept.

A celebration of love, gratitude, and family!

However, the realities of the deep rooted history of this holiday are checkered, and are far too often ignored. When children first hear the history of Thanksgiving, they often learn a whitewashed story about the triumphant pilgrims coming together with the Native Americans to break bread and rejoice. It is a story centered around their journey, and the Indigenous people are merely side characters. Not to mention, the harsh realities of the Pilgrims behavior towards the gentle Native Americans (violence, abuse, and even enslavement) are often glossed over. While straying away from a tale full of violence is necessary in keeping the history digestible for children, there must be changes to this inaccurate recount of history.

Unfortunately, fully changing all American educators’ lesson plans on Thanksgiving isn’t a viable solution at the moment, but there is a lot that the older and more learned generations can do to ensure that the future generations don’t become engulfed in a false depiction of what Thanksgiving is. The most accessible and arguably most effective way to do this is through books. Studies have shown that children books are an incredibly engaging and efficacious mechanism for teaching history to young minds. Many innovative children's books authors have begun to take advantage of this information, and channel their talents into creating meaningful and entertaining stories for children about the holiday of Thanksgiving. These stories tell the history of Thanksgiving by including the perspective of the Indigenous people while keeping the content bright for younger readers. Here are some wonderful examples:

We Are Grateful: Ostaliheliga by Tracy Sorrell

1. We Are Grateful: Ostaliheliga by Tracy Sorrell

2. Go Show the World: A celebration of Indigenous Heroes by Wab Kinew

3. The Very First Americans by Cara Ashrose

4. Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac

5. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp

6. 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving by Catherine O'Neill Grace

7. Four Seasons of Corn: A Winnebago Tradition (We Are Still Here) by Sally Hunter

8. Native American History for Kids by Karen Bush Gibson

9. Not My Girl by Christy Jordan-Fenton

10. Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hadista Story by S. D. Nelson

All of these stories have so much to offer. What better time to offer all perspectives of history than when anger and bitterness are often overwhelming? Children are the future of the world, and we have the opportunity to teach them history with the accuracy that it deserves. This Thanksgiving, while we eat our mashed potatoes and gravy and munch on pumpkin pie, we can honor the history of the Indigenous people through telling their stories to children.