‘We Became Warriors Again’: Why World War I Was a Surprisingly Pivotal Moment for American Indian History

When Congress in 2008 declared the Friday after Thanksgiving to be Native American Heritage Day, the resolution made only passing mention of why that timing made sense. It would "underscore the government-to-government relationship between the United States and Native American governments," presumably due to the longstanding national myth of a first Thanksgiving marked by a peaceful alliance between European colonists and American Indians.