Nournews: America’s National Thanksgiving Day is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday of November—an occasion that, on the surface, symbolizes gratitude, family togetherness, and charity toward those in need. But behind this old tradition lies a complex story, a forgotten history, and a bitter emotional legacy for Native Americans. Their perspective reveals that Thanksgiving is not merely a celebration, but a battleground between two historical memories: the memory of the settlers and the memory of the Indigenous peoples.
The official American narrative is built on a symbolic story: migrants who fled England in 1620 and arrived on the shores of Plymouth learned farming, fishing, and winter survival with the help of the Native inhabitants. One year later, in 1621, the harvest feast shared between the two groups became the origin of “Thanksgiving.” This romanticized image gradually became woven into America’s cultural identity, reinforcing values such as gratitude, generosity, and family gatherings as part of a national tradition.
The tradition was formalized in 1863 during the height of the Civil War, when Abraham Lincoln declared the fourth Thursday of November a “national holiday” to promote unity. The idea was originally proposed by Sarah Josepha Hale, a women’s rights activist who believed that collective celebration could strengthen social bonds. Since then, Thanksgiving has become an integral element of American political and social culture.
But behind this calm and benevolent picture lies a darker reality—one that Native Americans have never forgotten. For them, the day marks the beginning of a long process of colonization, devastating wars, the spread of deadly diseases, and the massive destruction of Indigenous tribes. That is why, since 1970, parts of the Indigenous community have renamed the holiday the National Day of Mourning, organizing protest gatherings in an effort to restore erased history to the public consciousness.
On the U.S. West Coast, an even sharper term has emerged: Unthanksgiving Day. The name is meant to highlight the fact that beneath the surface of turkey dinners and family festivities lies a painful legacy of discrimination and colonization. Many Indigenous activists emphasize that the official, school-taught narrative of peaceful cooperation between settlers and Native peoples reflects only one fragment of reality—while the long-term consequences of that initial encounter ultimately led to widespread cultural and demographic destruction.
This duality has made Thanksgiving one of the most complex dates on the American calendar—a day of gratitude for some, and a reminder of a bloody history for others. And perhaps it is precisely this contrast that shows Thanksgiving is less a fixed tradition and more a moment for rethinking history, identity, and justice.
NOURNEWS