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In 1600, about 12,000 Wampanoag Native Americans lived in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, perfectly placing them for interaction with the Pilgrims, or Plymouth settlers, who would later arrive in 1620.
As a semi-sedentary tribe, the Wampanoag moved seasonally, within an established set of fixed sites. Their diet was anchored by the three staples of corn, beans, and squash, which they supplemented with catches of fish and wild game. They spoke a specific dialect of the Wampanoag language, which is today undergoing a revival by descendents and students of this Native American culture.
In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived and with them, a set of cultural and language challenges. Luckily for both the Wampanoag and the Plymouth settlers, a Native American named Squanto (or Tisquantum) had arrived home after years as a European slave, in 1619. Squanto served as a translator and cultural ambassador between the two peoples, especially helping relations between Governor John Carver and the Wampanoag sachem (leader), Massasoit.
In March 1621, Squanto helped Carver and Massasoit make a deal that gave the settlers 12,000 acres of land to farm and hunt. In retrospect, it is probable that the Wampanoag leader did not understand the meaning to European land ownership, which was later a source of problems between the communities. However, in 1621, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag got along wonderfully, and Squanto taught the settlers how to grow crops and hunt for food.
To celebrate their first successful harvest in autumn 1621, the Pilgrims held a large feast, inviting Massasoit and his people to their town for a three-day celebration to thank God for providing them with such bounty. After the celebrations, the thankful and good-spirited Wampanoag went into the surrounding forests, killed five deer, and brought it to Governor Carver as a thank you. These events were the beginnings of what we today call Thanksgiving.
