Thanksgiving Message – Whittier 360 News Network

As we gather with friends and family this Thanksgiving, it is worth remembering that the very first Thanksgiving was not a holiday in the modern sense at all. It was essentially a harvest festival—an observance that both the European settlers and the Indigenous peoples already practiced in their respective cultures. What made that 1621 gathering so significant was not the food or the pageantry, but the historical moment in which it occurred.

Both the settlers and the Indigenous Americans were facing collapse. Disease and hunger were taking lives on both sides at staggering rates, and each community was on the brink of total extinction. What changed the course of history was the alliance they formed: they helped each other survive. They shared knowledge, labor, and protection. They saved each other.

This is the reason the first Thanksgiving stands as a founding event in American history. While there were other “thanksgiving” observances elsewhere in the hemisphere—such as in Florida—those events are not connected to the lineage, development, or founding of the United States. The Thanksgiving in New England is the one that directly shaped the nation that would later emerge.

At the same time, we must acknowledge the limits of historical hindsight. The Pilgrims who signed the treaties and alliances could not have foreseen the waves of later migrants from Europe who would violate those agreements and commit atrocities against the Indigenous peoples of the Eastern United States. And the Indigenous communities, who welcomed and aided the settlers, could not have anticipated that their descendants would one day face dispossession. It is unreasonable to blame the people of 1621 for events they neither intended nor could have prevented.

Rather than demonizing the Pilgrims, we should celebrate the best qualities they demonstrated during that short window in history: friendship, cooperation, curiosity, and a willingness to reach across cultural divides. Those traits built the first bridges between cultures that would eventually form the backbone of the American identity.

As we reflect on Thanksgiving today, in a nation still filled with strong and often polarized opinions, this message of cooperation is just as relevant. Immigration enforcement is one of those tense areas. ICE is performing the mission the American people elected President Trump to carry out—but the manner of enforcement matters. Strict enforcement of immigration laws does not require grabbing random people, beating anyone, or body-slamming detainees onto concrete. Law enforcement in the United States, whether ICE, ATF, or the FBI, is still bound by the Constitution. Anyone being taken into custody should be read their Miranda Rights like every other person arrested by any federal or local agency. Immigration enforcement is not professional wrestling. It must reflect American values, not violate them. As we do for people who are placed in detention centers for other crimes, detainees families should be allowed to visit them and they should be given access to appropriate medical care as needed.

Finally, it bears noting that our modern Thanksgiving holiday did not originate from the 1621 gathering. It was formally established during the aftermath of the Civil War as a day for a divided nation to seek healing, lay down bitterness, and recognize God’s providence through hardship. The meaning of Thanksgiving—unity in adversity—has carried forward ever since.

May we continue to learn from the past, embrace the best of the people who came before us, and seek peace and understanding with one another.

Happy Thanksgiving from Whittier 360 News Network.