Students and faculty gathered in the Dave Griner room of the Recreation and Physical Activity Center Thursday to dispel myths about the first Thanksgiving and discuss why some American Indians prefer alternatives to this celebration.
During the "Thanksgiving or Harvest?" intercultural leadership discussion, students learned about historically documented facts about the first Thanksgiving and listened to American Indian students talk about their celebration.
"One common myth is that the people who came across the ocean on the Mayflower referred to themselves as 'pilgrims'," said Candi Krisch, intercultural specialist for the Multicultural Center. "However, these people referred to themselves as 'saints' and were not called pilgrims until after the American Revolution, because America was trying to write its own story."
Although most people think the first Thanksgiving dinner had turkey, potatoes and cranberries, most of these items were not available during this part of the harvesting season, Krisch said.
"The only items that were available were venison, wild fowl, corn porridge and pumpkin mush," Kirsch said. "Fresh fruit was out of season and it was too cold to dig for clams and fish."
Krisch said that although most people think the indigenous people and the pilgrims were friendly, reports of pilgrims plundering grave sites and stealing from indigenous dwellings strained relations between the indigenous people and pilgrims.
"Today, many indigenous people do not celebrate Thanksgiving, and consider it a day of mourning for the losses of ancestors and land," Krisch said.
"I think of the celebration as more of a gathering of my family than Thanksgiving," said Trent Everhart, a senior in political science and president of the Ohio State American Indian Council. "When I'm with my dad, we'll make a plate for my ancestors to honor them."
About 0.3 percent of Ohioans identify themselves as American Indian, according to 2000 census data. Nationally, American Indians make up about 1 percent of the population.
"Sometimes we see ourselves as a largely forgotten population," Krisch said.
Everhart said the discussion, sponsored by the Multicultural Center, helped students and faculty learn about American Indian culture and dispel myths about the holiday.
"I think it's a great way to show the indigenous side," Everhart said. "It's a great historical piece that isn't one-sided."
The Multicultural Center will continue this discussion with an alternative Thanksgiving dinner at the Women's Field House on Nov. 20. They will serve dishes similar to those eaten by the indigenous American Indians during Thanksgiving, including venison stew, fried corn mush, corn stew and squash.
Amber Phelps can be reached at phelps.84@osu.edu.
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