Here’s The Crazy Story About Thanksgiving You’ve Never Heard

[LiberalArkie]

The Thanksgiving story you know probably goes a bit like this: English Pilgrims, seeking religious freedom, landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where they found a rich land full of animals and were greeted by a friendly Indian named Squanto, who taught them how to plant corn.

The true story is more complicated. Once you learn about the real Squanto -- also known as Tisquantum -- you'll have a great yarn to tell your family over the Thanksgiving table.

I asked historian Charles Mann, the author of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, and Paula Peters, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and an expert on Wampanoag history, to tell me the real story.

"This is not revisionist history," Peters promised. "This is history that's just been overlooked because people have become very, very comfortable with the story of happy Pilgrims and friendly Indians. They're very content with that -- even to the point where no one really questioned how is it that Squanto knew how to speak perfect English when they came."

Snip

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/thanksgiving-squanto-tisquantum-true-history_565471e1e4b0d4093a5917bb

[arcane1]

1. Squanto's story is more fascinating than all the Mayflower's stories combined, IMO n/t

[haikugal]

2. Agreed...

Thanks for the OP!

[1monster]

3. I read most of this story when I was in elementary school.

A out the only part I hadn't known was that his name meant "the wrath of God."

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

4. I watched a series a few years back called "Before the Mayflower"

and I watched it over the internet in 15 minute segments. I thought Squanto was brought back on the Mayflower.