re: Sweet Potato Pie or Pumpkin Pie?

NPR compared the histories of each. Sweet potato is heavily favored by black folks and southerners.

Pumpkin or sweet potato pie? There's a rich history behind both

And canned pumpkin is often made of other kinds of squash. It seems that squash and pumpkin are not well differentiated by the USDA.

Libby's (the Southern Living taste test winner) uses the Dickinson pumpkin, which looks more like a big squash than your Halloween pumpkin. They say they use it "because it has both a better taste and texture than other pumpkins. While Libby's only uses this pumpkin in their product, other canned pumpkin brands produce purees made with one or more types of winter squash, like butternut, Hubbard, Boston Marrow, and Golden Delicious." Southern Living: What's Really In Canned Pumpkin?