The myth of the First Thanksgiving is the mythologized retelling of a 1621 harvest feast by the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts as the foundation for the modern Thanksgiving holiday as celebrated
The First Thanksgiving 1621, oil on canvas by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1899). A fictionalized depiction of the traditional "First Thanksgiving" in which the Wampanoag anachronistically wear Plains tribes' headdresses, the Pilgrims wear contemporary cowboy hats and at least five Pilgrim women are present (only four had survived the previous winter).
A 1924 magazine depiction of a Pilgrim. The buckle hat atop his head, an iconic symbol of the Pilgrims in the myth, never existed as a serious piece of apparel.
"The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" (1914) By Jennie A. Brownscombe
Squanto
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Tisquantum, more commonly known as Squanto, was a member of the Patuxet tribe of Wampanoags, best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southern New England and th
Myth of the First Thanksgiving
…1621 was particularly harsh for the English settlers, with many of them dying. The settlers were able to prepare for the next winter with the help of Tisquantum, usually called Squanto in the myth, but what is usually not mentioned is that Tisquantum had been abducted by the crew of an English ship in 1614 and…
Captain Weymouth impressing Natives of Pemaquid, Maine, with a sword he magnetized by means of a lodestone.
Samoset comes "boldly" into Plymouth settlement; woodcut designed by A.R. Waud and engraved by J.P. Davis (1876)
Sculpture of Massasoit in Mill Creek Park, Kansas City, Missouri by Cyrus E. Dallin (1920)
Tisquantum returning John Billington from the Nauset in a 1922 storybook for children.