FROM THE ARCHIVE

Natives go back to Plymouth

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NOVEMBER 24, 2000

Hundreds of Native Americans and supporters from throughout the country held a peaceful march in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the first Thanksgiving was said to have occurred in 1621.

The march was organized by the United American Indians of New England, who have been marking the National Day of Mourning since 1970. The event was first held after the state of Massachusetts "uninvited" Frank James, a Mashpee Wampanoag leader, from a Thanksgiving day commemoration after it was learned he was going to speak about the struggles Native people have faced since colonial times.

In 1997, police clashed with marchers there and some 25 protesters were arrested. The town later negotiated with tribal leaders, agreeing to put up a plaque in commemoration of the genocide inflicted upon Native peoples.

The plaque reads: "Many Native Americans do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims and other European settlers. To them, Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their culture."

The Boston Globe once again commented on the occasion in an editorial published on Thanksgiving Day. The paper said the plaque places "too much weight on the 1621 harvest celebration" because the Pilgrims didn't know their descendants would later war with the Wampanoag and other tribes.

Last year, the paper was slightly more critical, saying that the protest on Plymouth was misplaced because no genocide ever took place on Thanksgiving. The paper didn't say who claimed genocide occurred on the date.

Get the Editorial:
Editorial: Pilgrims' harvest feast (The Boston Globe 11/23)

Relevant Links:
National Day of Mourning - www.pilgrimhall.org/daymourn.htm