Thanksgiving Day has become a traditional part of American culture. As the name suggests it is a day to give thanks and appreciate what we have in our lives. However, the history of the holiday is one that is met with much unfamiliarity and controversy.

In grade school, children are taught that the festivities pay tribute to the settlers, the pilgrims, surviving the tribulations of the new world due to the generous Native American’s efforts.

While most do not dispute this part of history, the story beyond is simplified greatly or unvisited in many cases. True, the gory details may be too much for a young mind to process, but this lack of education results in an unaware population.

The settlers survival of that winter did not solely result in the traditional feast of sorts, but the beginnings of a harsh destruction of a people and culture across North America.

Extremely contagious diseases brought by settlers, such as small pox, ran rampant killing many susceptible natives.

From this rose concepts of Manifest Destiny, an attempt to claim ownership of land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. This mentality resulted in an attempted genocide of a culture, and a suffering of a people that continues to plague America today.

However, Thanksgiving may go past the celebration of the Mayflower’s survival. Harvest festivals have been celebrated by many cultures throughout history. Many have even adopted the term of “Turkey Day” to replace the traditional holiday name.

This Thanksgiving or Turkey Day, continue to take comfort with loved ones, feast on traditional or non-traditional foods, and be thankful for life and prosperity. However, it is important to also pay tribute and remembrance to the truth of an oppressed people, who by many standards are over looked or unacknowledged in their past and current plight.