As Thanksgiving approaches, here are a couple of Web sources that might be of interest.
Thanksgiving in North America: From Local Harvests to National Holiday
This site traces the history of Thanksgiving in North America and the U.S. “Most Americans are familiar with the Pilgrim’s Thanksgiving Feast of 1621, but few realize that it was not the first festival of its kind in North America.” Discusses Native American harvest celebrations; celebrations in Newfoundland, Florida, Maine, and Virginia prior to the Pilgrim’s celebration; and presidential Thanksgiving proclamations. Part of the Encyclopedia Smithsonian from the Smithsonian Institution.
[Citation from LII.org]
The National Day of Mourning
This site describes how since 1970 “on Thanksgiving Day, many Native Americans and their supporters gather at the top of Coles Hill, overlooking Plymouth Rock, for the ‘National Day of Mourning.'” Includes comments about the history of this event, including Wampanoag leader Frank James’ 1970 speech about the history of oppression of the Native people of America, which led to the first commemoration. From the Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
[Citation from LII.org]