‘Squanto’ Squanders Opportunity

We are grateful that a great-spirited bilingual American peacemaker is finally being brought to the attention of millions by the Disney film “Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale” (“ ‘Squanto’ an Exceptional Family Film,” Calendar, Oct. 28). But in taking dramatic license, the movie offers a contrived condensation of incidents: An important part of American history is presented as an English period piece with little to do with Native Americans and even less, the Puritans.

Los Amigos of Orange County, a group of Latino leaders meeting weekly since 1978, has a deep interest in the first Thanksgiving and the historical Tisquantum, as he was also known. As chair of Los Amigos, I would like to provide some background that the film omits and also tell you how the real history has enabled us to come together with our neighbors to commemorate that first Thanksgiving.

A year ago, we invited other groups to join us in a low-key, no-money “remembrance Thanksgiving.” The variety of Americans who responded enthusiastically surprised us. Locally, agreement ranges from the Cambodian Assn. of America to the American Jewish Committee, from Christian Victory Outreach to the Council on Islamic Education, from 100 Black Men of Orange County to the City of Lake Forest. People of good will like the idea of celebrating how native-born Americans sat down in friendship with newcomer religious refugee boat-people.

This inspiration is absent from the historical narrative in the screen creation that ignores the American Puritan voice.

We know about the first Thanksgiving because of a letter dated Dec. 11, 1621, from Edward Winslow to a friend in England. It does not mention Tisquantum, a Pawtuxet Indian who had spent time in England and Spain after being enslaved by earlier English explorers. But the life-and-death services of friendship this bilingual Native American rendered the perishing Puritans leaps from pages of “Of Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford, successor to Gov. John Carver, who died in April, 1621.

According to Bradford, Tisquantum’s interpreting brought accord with the major chief, Massasoit. Tisquantum (and no one else is mentioned) showed the starving English where to fish and how to plant corn with fish to add nutrients to poor soil. It is hard to believe that there could have been a first Thanksgiving without him.

Bradford calls Tisquantum “a special instrument sent by God.” When he died, fevered and bleeding profusely, just a year and half after first coming to the Puritans, he left “sundry of his things to sundry of his English friends as remembrances of his love; of whom they had a great loss.” This moving death didn’t fit the formula chosen for “Squanto,” the movie.

As must always be the case with historical figures, there is much more to a life than cinema chooses to use. We believe this story goes to the heart of what America is all about. We should remember Tisquantum in our Thanksgiving when we sit down “so we might after a more special manner rejoice together” (in the words of Edward Winslow).

Los Amigos of Orange County has special reason for choosing Tisquantum as a role model. Our motto is Nos gusta ayudar (We like to help).