First Thanksgiving Myths

There were lots of different types of foods Fruits,meats and drinks. The vast need for food was proven very useful because “we don 't want our soldiers starving now do we”. It was a big responsibility for the drivers and sailors delivering valuable foods. If the food and supplies did not make it to the soldiers who were fighting they would not be able to win in battle. There were many times when food was scarce and troops had to do without because the transportation that was arriving got raided, The colonists depended greatly on transpiration to deliver the food.

William Bradford said, Furthermore waterfowl there was incredible store of wild turkeys, of which they took numerous, other than venison. Other than they had about a peck of supper a week to an individual, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that

The main plants that they would eat were columbine, milkweed, wild pea, sheep sorrel and occasionally mushrooms and roots. They also ate seeds like pine nuts and acorns that they would smash and then add water to make a type of mush to eat. To do that they would use the surrounding rocks and grind them. This caused holes to be carved into the rocks. They also used smaller rocks to mush the acorns and pine nuts.

In the morning they had coffee, or boiled water with what looked like coffee beans. That is what they had for breakfast. Period. For lunch, the survivors ate a very watered down soup with the ingredients consisting of potatoes, rutabagas, and flower. To top it all off, for dinner the prisoners ate bread, a little piece of sausage, and a tablespoon of either marmalade or cheese.

As for provision of food, the Native Americans often provided it for the Corps. For instance, after the party made their way through the Bitterroots, they were starving. “Normally, 4 deer were required to feed the expedition; in their 11 days in the Bitterroots, they managed to kill only five….Lewis killed one (coyote)... a few grouse ...

As the child grew it says “Blood Clot said, ‘I have killed a big fellow with big antlers.’ It was an elk, so again the family feasted on the meat”(9). The next example of foods is from the Brule Sioux Tribe. This tribe mainly eats off of plants that they are picked by hand. “These were peyote plants guiding her to their hiding places among the thorn bushes and chaparral.

Did you know your history teachers have lied to you about the first Thanksgiving? In James W. Loewen’s article, “The Truth about The First Thanksgiving,” he discussed all the important information left out of history books. When asking his students when the United States had first settled, he was surprised at the number of students said 1620. All of this confusion, comes from the word “settled” and many other misunderstood events in history. Here are some of the points he made in his article.

The Huron-Wendat Feast of the Dead by Erik R. Seeman Introduction Two thousand Wendat Indians rested on the periphery of a gargantuan interment pit... they had the bones of approximately seven hundred dead friends and family unit members in their arms. The Wendat had devotedly scraped, as well as cleaned the corpse’s bones that had decayed on the gallows. They anticipated only the indicator from the ritual master to put the bones within the hollow.

There was other food in their day-to-day rations for example the meat that was offered could consist of bacon, pork, or beef. They would salt their pork so that it would have a longer shelf life and be safe to eat for longer. Some other things they had were flour and bread products. The “bread” was a dried-out cracker with longer shelf life. They also had sugar.

In the southwest sheep and goats became a permanent part of the economy and culture of Pueblo and Navajo peoples (Calloway). However, the traditional Navajo diet contained eating boiled mutton and corn, which the corn was prepared in a range of different ways. Also they would obtain flour by taken it through a slight leavening process, then make it into the type of cooked over the embers small cake that is found with Mexican tortillas (Unknown, What Did The Navajo Indians Eat). They could have learned this by the Mexicans because they were so close to Mexico but also because they learned other crafty things from the Mexicans. Also the Navajo diet goat’s meat was a well-known aspect however pork and bacon was a largely disliked in the community (Unknown, What Did The Navajo Indians Eat).

It appears it was men, women and their children. Back then, they didn’t have the luxurious food that is present here today. Most of the food eaten back

Men contributed to the Cherokee’s food supply by fishing. They made spears, hooks, and traps to catch

Another website said, “The wealthy people ate manchet, a loaf made of wheat flour. In the country districts, a lot of rye and barley bread were eaten.” So even though there was the same basic meals, it was diverse. Like for bread, the wealthy people ate machet which is a loaf made of high quality flour, while the poorer ate bread made of the crops that they grew themselves such as rye and barley. Another example of this difference is silverware.

Hosting Thanksgiving was always a tradition at my house. We would always have my family down at my house every year for as far back as I can remember. That is, until this year. This year, my family and I went down to South Carolina for Thanksgiving. It was a blast!

Most of the things the two tribes farmed was corn,