The myth of Thanksgiving is really a different thing from American history. It's almost completely disconnected. The myth is beautiful--I can see why people want to believe it.
Once upon a time, our ancestors were persecuted for their religion in their homeland, so they fled to a place where they could worship freely. The journey was difficult, and they didn't know what they would find. Many of them died on the way, but they were faithful and persevered. Our ancestors did not know how to survive in the new land where everything was strange to them, and they nearly starved. They met strange people, who became their friends, and taught them how to live in the new place. And so they all celebrated together.
It's a lovely fantasy, or national origin myth, or bit of wishful thinking, or whatever you want to call it. (A lot of people buy into the "our ancestors" idea, knowing their ancestors came to the country far more recently. Myths are like that.) You can believe it, or want to believe it, and still recognize the atrocities that came later--the biological warfare, the mass murders, the trail of tears, the residential schools.
I'm not sure if it even matters that the beginning of the myth is false as well. (The Puritans were welcome to practice their religion where they were. They wanted to leave so they wouldn't have to live among non-Puritan neighbors.) People celebrate Christmas without particularly caring whether Jesus of Nazareth was born as the stories say.
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Once upon a time, our ancestors were persecuted for their religion in their homeland, so they fled to a place where they could worship freely. The journey was difficult, and they didn't know what they would find. Many of them died on the way, but they were faithful and persevered. Our ancestors did not know how to survive in the new land where everything was strange to them, and they nearly starved. They met strange people, who became their friends, and taught them how to live in the new place. And so they all celebrated together.
It's a lovely fantasy, or national origin myth, or bit of wishful thinking, or whatever you want to call it. (A lot of people buy into the "our ancestors" idea, knowing their ancestors came to the country far more recently. Myths are like that.) You can believe it, or want to believe it, and still recognize the atrocities that came later--the biological warfare, the mass murders, the trail of tears, the residential schools.
I'm not sure if it even matters that the beginning of the myth is false as well. (The Puritans were welcome to practice their religion where they were. They wanted to leave so they wouldn't have to live among non-Puritan neighbors.) People celebrate Christmas without particularly caring whether Jesus of Nazareth was born as the stories say.