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BRISTOL, R.I. – A packed crowd filled the North Campus Residence Hall Great Room as students, faculty, and community members gathered for Thanksgiving Retold. The historian-led dialogue, co-presented by �鶹ɫ��Ƭ’s Public Humanities and Arts Collaborative (The Co-Lab), the Department of History, and the Honors Program, reconsidered one of the country’s most familiar holidays through a deeper, Indigenous-centered understanding of its origins.

The conversation brought together Pokanoket Tribal Historian Don “Strong Turtle” Brown, Jr. and Richard Pickering, Deputy Executive Director and Senior Historian at Plimoth Patuxet Museums. Professor of History Debra Mulligan served as moderator, guiding the pair through an examination of how national memory shapes our understanding of 1621 and what it means to approach Thanksgiving with honesty, nuance, and historical clarity.

From the start, the speakers encouraged attendees to think critically about how stories are formed and who has the power to tell them. Brown, Jr. emphasized the importance of grounding historical understanding in personal and communal identity. “Everyone must own their story,” he said, “because if you don’t own your story and where you come from, others will say it for you.” His call to reclaim narrative ownership set the tone for a discussion that challenged the portrayal of Thanksgiving as a harmonious moment of cross-cultural gathering.

Brown, Jr. went on to reframe 1621 as a moment rooted in diplomacy and sovereignty, noting that Massasoit Ousamequin, leader of the Pokanoket people, held power in the region and intentionally allowed the English to remain. “It wasn’t a pact. It wasn’t this idea of friendship. It was a treaty,” he said. “The Plymouth Colony understood the primacy of maintaining a good diplomatic relationship with this one man.” He added that understanding the period requires re-centering Indigenous political authority where it truly lay. “In 1620, Plymouth Colony was not the center of power in this region; Sowams was,” he said, referring to the Indigenous seat of Massasoit Ousamequin in what is now Bristol, Warren, and Barrington. “Indigenous Peoples were not bystanders – they determined the fate of Plymouth far more than Plymouth determined the fate of the region.”

Pickering built on this reframing by speaking to the uncertainties and limits inherent in understanding early American history. “There is so much going on that we cannot grasp,” he said. “We see through a glass darkly … and we are never going to be able to see eye to eye with what happened.” He highlighted how recent archaeological work is reshaping scholarly interpretations of Plymouth and exposing gaps and biases in the written record. For students in the room, he noted, these discoveries mark an exciting moment in the field. “I hope, in some ways, that what I’m telling you is wrong, and you will discover new things that I don’t even suspect.”

Pickering also reflected on the meaning of the holiday itself. “Thanksgiving does not mean the same thing to all Americans,” he said. “For many Indigenous people, it is a day to reflect on the arrival of Europeans and the beginning of a time of monumental change. The evolution of Thanksgiving is not over. Rather, it continues each year when diverse people gather to break bread, learn from one another, and, in turn, shape the future of this American holiday.”

The Co-Lab’s Role in Expanding Dialogue

For Elizabeth Rosner, Faculty Director of The Co-Lab, the event exemplified the community-engaged work that the initiative was created to support. “The Thanksgiving Retold event is representative of the kind of work we do at The Co-Lab in bringing people together, holding space for communities to tell their own stories, and expanding our collective understandings of this place we call home,” she said. “The Co-Lab was founded to spark conversations around the many histories, stories, and cultures of Southern New England, and to create opportunities for collaboration across the arts and humanities.”

The evening’s themes resonated strongly with students, including sophomore Marine Biology major Patrick Hydeck from Avon, Conn. Hydeck said he attended because of a longstanding interest in American history and a desire to hear a perspective he had never encountered growing up. “I was excited at the prospect of learning something new – especially something from a different perspective,” he said. Hearing the story of 1621 centered on Indigenous politics and diplomacy revealed how much of the narrative he learned as a child had been simplified. “I never learned about any of this in grade school,” he said. “It was compelling to hear about the reality of a story I heard every year as a kid.”

Hydeck said speaking one-on-one with Pickering and Brown, Jr. further broadened his perspective. “Those conversations really enhanced the overall experience,” Hydeck said. For him, the value of hosting events like this on campus is clear. “It gives students the opportunity to look into perspectives outside of those they were raised with. It helps us become more well-rounded individuals.”

In a post-event reflection, Brown, Jr. also stressed the importance of confronting the past with honesty. “If we do not confront our history as it truly unfolded, how can we honestly face the challenges that persist in our present?” he asked. “History is not finished. We must be willing to question old narratives, reconsider new ones, and let evidence guide our understanding.”

As the evening concluded, Pickering offered a final reflection that captured the spirit of the program and the work ahead. “Judgment shuts down curiosity; empathy deepens it,” he said. “In museums and universities, there must be an enhanced emphasis on empathy for historical people, and we must always attempt to recover missing voices.” 

At �鶹ɫ��Ƭ, events like Thanksgiving Retold continue to open space for those voices, challenging familiar narratives and inviting the community to engage with the past in all its complexity.