Regarding the web story, "At the Pilgrim's [sic, shouldn't it be the
Pilgrims']
Thanksgiving," there are MANY inaccuracies that need to be addressed:

According to noted Plymouth/Plimoth Plantation authorities,
James & Patricia Deetz (The Times of Their Lives), the DECEMBER 1621
feast did NOT include:
cranberry sauce or cranberries,
pumpkin pie (flour and sugar in short supply)
tables or benches (everyone sat on the ground or on stumps)
potatoes (not widely appreciated in Europe until the 1780s)
sweet potatoes (probably first introduced into New England by
                         VIRGINIANS in 1764)
probably NO dairy products, since cattle came in 1623
probably NO barns or oxen either that early
probably NO carrots or onions or raisins, either
also, where would you find "fresh flowers" in late December in New England?

What they did serve:  Turkey, Venison, Maize, alcoholic beverages, ducks,
     geese (why would you need swans?), FISH, Lobster and other seafood,
     and probably EELS (yes, gross out the kids')
You may want to emphasize that everyone ate with Spoon, Knife, and Hands
(no forks), which kids would enjoy

* * Remember that the recreated Plimoth Plantation is made to look like
1627, not earlier, and voyages subsequent to the Mayflower were necessary
for bringing over livestock and other necessities + alot more colonists

* * AND Plymouth Rock (no rock at all) was NEVER mentioned by original
eyewitnesses and is a myth concocted in the late 18th century (at least
Pilgrim myths had PR value, however bogus, that can still attract a crowd--
unlike Jamestown 400)

NOW, the misleading illustrations:

Please NO feather headresses, which perpetuates the all Indians-as Sioux
     mythology;  the Pilgrims didn't wear much black, either, perferring
color-
     ful clothing. Gift of blanket probablematical as well

NO tipi / teepee like "tents" >> not the New England Algonquian way

NO modern runner outfit (p 20); kids today still think everyone had Nikes

Why hopscotch?  Why so much space devoted to it?

    Frankly, I think all this feel-goodism about Euros and Indians is
pathetic,
considering the fate of all the tribes, friendly and hostile, alike.  To be
honest
with our children, who know more about violence, war, drugs, racism, sexual
predators, political folly, and adult hypocrisy more than we realize, we should
be teaching the Thanksgiving version from the movie, Addams Family Values:

      "We cannot break bread with you.  You have taken the land which
      is rightfully ours.  Years from now my people will be forced to live in
      mobile homes on reservations.  Your people will wear cardigans and
      drink highballs.  We will sell our bracelets by the roadside.  You will

      play golf and enjoy hot hors d'oeuvres.  My people will have pain and
      degradation.  Your people will have stick shifts. The gods of my tribe
      have spoken:  Do not trust the Pilgrims!"

Best,

Fred Fausz
St. Louis

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html