History Series: Thanksgiving Indian
History of Thanksgiving Indian
Why Squanto already knew English
HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING: FRIENDLY INDIAN SQUANTO
We’ve all heard how the Pilgrims, landing in Massachusetts four hundred years ago on the Mayflower in 1620, were ill-equipped to survive the harsh winters of the New World. We’ve also heard how they met a Native American Indian of the Patuxet tribe, Squanto, who befriended them. He taught them how to survive in their new wilderness home, how to plant and fertilize their crops and fish, and acted as an interpreter with the Wampanoag tribe and its chief, Massasoit (pictured above from Plymouth, MA).
The fact that he already knew English before the Pilgrims landed is what is remarkable.
Squanto at Thanksgiving
The man Tisquantum, better known as Squanto, probably was present at the first Thanksgiving celebration held by the Pilgrims. He was certainly there by 1621 — after the winter when the Pilgrims lost half of their population to starvation and diseases — when another Indian, Samoset, introduced Squanto to the Pilgrim settlers and became a member of their colony. Because Squanto could speak English well, Governor William Bradford asked him to serve as his…
