Thanksgiving: A Prayer Over the Bones

Not a feast of friendship — but survival, violence, faith twisted into power, and a story rewritten to make it all look holy.

The Story We’re Told

Every November, America repeats the myth: the Pilgrims fled religious persecution, befriended Native people, shared a peaceful meal, prayed, and created Thanksgiving.

That story is clean.

The truth is not.

The Pilgrims Weren’t Tolerant — They Wanted Control

They already had religious freedom in the Netherlands. They left because it was too tolerant. Their children were laughing, speaking Dutch, wearing color. They wanted a place where their strict form of Christianity ruled everything.

William Bradford, Plymouth’s governor, wrote of building a society “pure and disciplined under God.” Joy was suspicious. Christmas was banned. Music, dancing, theater — sinful.

"Religious freedom," to them, meant their religion in charge.

The First Winter: Half Dead Before Spring

The Mayflower was not a proud ship. It was cold, wet, and full of disease. By the end of winter 1620–1621, half the passengers were dead.

The only reason they survived was the Wampanoag people — especially Tisquantum (Squanto) and Chief Massasoit — who taught them to plant corn, find water, and survive.

The Pilgrims thanked God.

They did not thank the Wampanoag in writing.

Mystic, Connecticut — The First Official “Thanksgiving” Was for a Massacre

Schools teach us the 1621 harvest feast. But one of the first official colonial Thanksgiving proclamations was in 1637, after over 400 Pequot men, women, and children were killed in the Mystic Massacre.

Colonial troops and allies surrounded a Pequot village at dawn. They set it on fire. Anyone who ran was shot. Anyone who stayed burned.

Governor John Winthrop declared a Day of Thanksgiving to God for this victory.

Captain John Underhill wrote:

“We had sufficient light from God… We burned them in the fire, and praised God.”

(Newes from America, 1638)

That — not turkey and corn — was an official Thanksgiving.

Then They Turned on Their Own — The Witch Trials

Once Native land was claimed, fear turned inward.

In Salem, 1692–1693:

Over 200 accused of witchcraft

19 hanged

1 crushed to death

5 died in prison

None were burned — that happened in Europe, not America

Cotton Mather, minister, wrote that these deaths “cleansed the land of the Devil.”

It wasn’t justice. It was fear, weaponized by religion.

This Isn’t Just the Past

The tools changed — the mindset didn’t.

Back then, it was scripture and muskets.

Now it can be law, shame, and politics.

Today, we still see:

Laws based on religious doctrine controlling women’s bodies

LGBTQ+ people denied rights because of “God’s design”

Books pulled from schools for questioning religious morality

Politicians saying “God told me” to justify power

Churches with billions in assets preaching sacrifice to the poor

Not all Christians, not all churches — but the pattern of using religion to command, restrict, and silence is older than this country.

So What Is Thanksgiving Really?

Thanksgiving can be family, warmth, and gratitude — that’s real.

But the origin story? It was written to hide pain.

It asks us to celebrate peace while ignoring the land taken, the people killed, and the prayers spoken over their ashes.

Maybe the honest version is this:

Give thanks.

Love your people.

Eat the food.

Tell the truth.