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This piece concerning the Truth About the First Thanksgiving is important because as the author mentions in the beginning of his article when he asked his students when the United States was first settled (67). The answer that the author received was not surprising because many would tend to agree that the United States was formed once the Europeans arrived, however, it is important that all of us in the United States know and understand that people were here in America well before the Europeans. Most people view America through a narrow lens of ethnocentrism thus the need for articles such as that found here. In both elementary and high school we are all taught that the pilgrims were great, the Native Americans were all savage, uncivilized cultures, yet how many knew that Native cultures had limited exposure to disease because their hygiene habits were far superior to that of the pilgrims (70). Another point of interest is how the author dispels the legend of Squanto by describing exactly what he went through, how he learned English, and ultimately why he helped the pilgrims (83). There are a number of books out there that tells the other side of American history but there is one book that I particularly enjoy and the title of the book is called Portrait of America. This book gives the biography of famous people such as Christopher Columbus and our “Founding Fathers” and it describes in detail the other side of these people which we may have not heard about in our high school history classes. This is why articles such as this one is important because it tells both sides of American history and it should help all students and citizens to appreciate that if not for the Native Americans, who died of the European diseases, that America would be a much different country today.