Teaching the Holidays

Growing up on the south shore of Massachusetts, my town's school system did a lot with Native Americans and Thanksgiving. We often took field trips to Plymouth Plantation as well as Plymouth Rock and read many books about the day in the life of a pilgrim and the first Thanksgiving. It was emphasized over and over again that Columbus did NOT reach India and the proper terminology for the people he came in contact with was "Native Americans". We made turkeys by tracing our hands and one year we even made 3D "stuffed" turkeys. In physical education the whole month of November was "Native American Games". 

Many teachers and curriculum's do not want to teach the hostility toward the Native Americans and would rather teach Thanksgiving as a big pow wow between the Native Americans and settlers. Some teachers will also refer to the people Christopher Columbus came in contact with as "Indians" which is completely wrong and politically incorrect. "A is for apple, B is for ball..I is for Indian" explains "What Not to Teach About Indians", an article about where stereotypes about "Indians originate. The full story should be taught as is-it doesn't have to be the college course American history version. But tone down the hostility and explain the mistakes of Columbus and where he really was. I think the curriculum just thinks that kids won't understand the reality of Columbus and Thanksgiving and decide to treat the two as a "fairy tale". There is a huge difference between the Natives who's land was stolen by European settlers and Indians native to India and it SHOULD be taught this way.