Plymouth is a tourist town that capitalizes on stories of the Pilgrims and Native Americans, and how the two groups came together for the first Thanksgiving dinner. During the summer and Thanksgiving parade, tourists flood the town to see the sites and learn the Plymouth origin stories. While many of the stories are heavily fictionalized, they always include the Wampanoag people who lived on the land, and the Pilgrims who arrived later from Europe.
So when current town officials are presented with a statement acknowledging the land as sacred to the Wampanoag Nation and honoring the people who came before the Pilgrims, why do town officials and residents question extending the gesture of goodwill? Why do officials claim to be fearful of imaginary future legal issues without identifying anything specific? It is silly and paranoid to behave as if a group of Native Americans with little to no representation in the town, state, or national governments will overthrow the established white European power base in Plymouth. It’s just ridiculous.
Not supporting our Wampanoag neighbors with a meaningful gesture is incredibly unkind. And not acknowledging our partners at the original Thanksgiving table that the tourism machine celebrates with such gusto is a terrible image for the Town of Plymouth.
– Diana Barker Price