In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims reaped a bountiful harvest. To thank God for their deliverance and the help they had received from the Indians, [William] Bradford held a three-day Thanksgiving feast inviting the Indians to join them in their celebration.
Squanto remained friendly with the Pilgrims until he succumbed to an unknown fever and died in 1622. Amazingly, he bequeathed his possessions to the Pilgrims, as Bradford would document, “as remembrances of his love.”
Considering the trials of his own life, it would have been understandable for Squanto to sow bitterness and seek war against the Pilgrims. Instead, his generosity and forgiveness enabled their survival.
Exemplifying St. Paul’s challenge to “not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good,” Squanto’s cooperation would not be forgotten by the Pilgrims. Nor should it today.
And yet another good link to an a rticle on thoughts about the Indians, God, and the Pilgrims at their first Thanksgiving:
http://www.boundless.org/2000/features/a0000360.html