Thanksgiving history taught in classrooms is often whitewashed. We asked Indigenous people what everyone should know about the holiday -- and how non-natives can be better allies.

Thanksgiving is often celebrated in the United States as a time for gratitude, family, and feasting. The narrative taught in schools and popularized in the media paints a harmonious picture of the Pilgrims and Native Americans sharing a peaceful meal in 1621.

When the first settlers arrived in Jamestown in April 1607 and raised a cross at Cape Henry, claiming the land for England, they may have had a thanksgiving predating their first known observance in 1619. In that year, Berkeley Hundred was settled, one of a number of plantations granted by the Virginia Co. of London to its stockholders.

As many prepare to gather around the table for annual Thanksgiving feasts and celebrations, some might wonder when the tradition started and when it became a national holiday.

Here's a bit of history about Thanksgiving and traditions surrounding the holiday. The first Thanksgiving Day "celebration" is said to have taken place in 1621, the History Channel reports. The story,

The first Thanksgiving was a moment when two totally different groups came together to celebrate the first harvest. We seem to be forgetting that we should all be Americans first.