Book Review: This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving by David J. Silverman
Once you start reading this book it is likely you will continue with it to the end—this is gripping documented history that will have you on the edge of your seat in some parts, and shaking your head in others at how stupid humans can be. The time period covered is from near pre-history to our own contemporary time. Prepare for a clear eyed view of New England history (Hint: It’s not peace and love between whites and Native Americans at a first Thanksgiving). The English and the Indians each had their faults, both moral and cultural; the differences appear to be in power and willingness to use it, exacerbated by different concepts of private and communal—as it still is today.
David J. Silverman is open about his thorough approach to historical documentation, and the Native American and English sources consulted to produce the most accurate account possible with currently extant sources. This adds to the confidence the reader may have in the veracity of the content in this book. The effect of this factual presentation is lasting.
From the historical account in this book it appears to me that “King Philip’s War (Metacom’s Rebellion)” in 1675-1676 was the inflection point for the acceleration of Native Americans’ downward spiral from being independent nations. After that it was not much of a stretch to see the future coming of the Trail of Tears perpetrated by Andrew Jackson against Native Americans in the South—for the same expansionist reasons.
Zoom out from the narrative and you may see in the Europeans remnants of the Roman Empire, with its impetus for military conquest and taking of slaves. After Constantine it was a common presumption that the Empire was one and the same as the Kingdom of Jesus. The Native Americans who were “Praying Indians” embraced Christianity without the perspective of being part of European oriented Christendom—they studied the Bible and applied the Gospels through other than a European lens.
One possible result of the 21st Century thoughts described in this book might be the reorientation of our Thanksgiving holiday. We may dispense with the silly Pilgrim/Indian motifs, and instead embrace a Thanksgiving for all humanity. Let’s hope that is sooner than later.
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