The Wampanoag leader who gave food to the colonists during their first winter was Massasoit.
Massasoit was the English title used for Ousamequin, the sachem, or principal leader, of the Pokanoket branch of the Wampanoag confederacy. After the Mayflower settlers established Plymouth Colony in 1620, illness, hunger, exposure, and inadequate shelter killed roughly half of them during the first winter.
In spring 1621, Massasoit helped establish a peace and mutual-protection agreement with the colonists. Wampanoag assistance helped Plymouth survive when supplies from England proved insufficient. Tisquantum—often called Squanto—also played a major role as an interpreter and agricultural guide, teaching the settlers about local crops, fishing, and food-gathering. That is why Massasoit and Squanto are sometimes mistakenly treated as the same person.
The popular Thanksgiving story compresses several events into one simple scene. The 1621 harvest celebration did include Wampanoag people, but surviving accounts do not describe it exactly as the modern holiday is often portrayed. Massasoit’s relationship with Plymouth was initially diplomatic and strategic, shaped partly by Wampanoag losses from epidemic disease and pressure from neighboring rivals.