Rewriting the Thanksgiving story, while centering Indigenous voices

From the Mayflower's landing, to the meal shared by English setters and Wampanoag people, much is still widely misunderstood about the Thanksgiving holiday and its history.

Connecticut-based educator Chris Newell recently wrote a book for children that helps to untangle some of the myths and misnomers commonly associated with Thanksgiving. For example, the book clarifies that "the holiday we celebrate today does not have any real connection to the Mayflower’s landing. In fact, the story that links them was not created until two hundred years later."

As Newell notes in his introduction, "The story of the Mayflower landing is different depending on whether the storyteller viewed the events from the boat or from the shore." This hour, Chris Newell joins us.

Plus, how is this topic being reframed in Connecticut classrooms? The Connecticut State Department of Education recently published resources for "Teaching Native American Studies." The materials were developed in a collaboration between the five state-recognized Eastern Woodland tribes: Golden Hill Paugussett, Mashantucket Pequot, Mohegan, Paucatuck Eastern Pequot and Schaghticoke.

Becky Gomez, the director of education for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, and Sam Tondreau, a member of the Mohegan Tribe as well as their director of curriculum and instruction, discuss.

GUESTS:

Chris Newell: Member of the Passamaquaddy Tribe; Co-Founder and Director of Education, Akowmawt Educational Initiative; Museum Educator; Children's Book Author, If You Lived During

Rebecca Gomez: Director of Education and Recreation, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation

Samantha Tondreau: Member of the Mohegan Tribe; Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Mohegan Tribe

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