HUM 221: Woodland Indians, Pilgrims and Thanksgiving

We'll take a virtual tour of a Woodland village of about 1550 A.D., which would be 75 years before the English started settling New England.

Important tangent: Notice what garden crops they grow: corn, beans and squash. They are known as the "three sisters," and they are basic to the economy of the Woodland Indian nations. A couple of questions: Which two of the "three sisters" are represented in Illinois' main export crops today? If you drive from Springfield to Havana, Ill., on State Route 97 in the early fall, what plants do you see growing in the fields along the roadside, and what vegetables do you see for sale in the roadside stands next to the highway?

Among the first American Indians encountered by English colonists were the Wampanoag, who lived in what is now Massachusetts south of Boston.

Amateur historian and genealogist Duane A. Cline's history of the Pilgrims has detailed -- and surprising -- information. Historically sound, too. Scroll down to the heading "MEETING OF THE TWO CULTURES" for the story of Squanto and the Pilgrims.

There's a lot of good background on the Wampanoag in this profile of the Wampanoag tribe from Minnesota State University. As always, we'll want to visit today's website of the federally recognized Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts.

The "First Thanksgiving" myth, including (a) an overview in The Christian Science Monitor at http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1127/p13s02-lign.html, (b) a newspaper story on at what Alaska Natives eat along with their turkey at http://www.adn.com/life/taste/story/8435558p-8329710c.html and (c) an essay by folklorist Esaúl Sánchez at http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/features/1995/112195/abrahams.html suggesting one thing the myth does for us.