When Natives have been erased and objectified to the point that narratives to work in favor of the colonizer become “aesthetics”.
I received alot of backlash for a previous post I made about Pocahontas that was a screen cap of a tweet about Pocahontas being raped and thinking of that everytime i see romanticized depictions or sexualized Pocahontas costumes.
Ultimately I never claim to be a historian or to take agency away from Matoaka by reducing her to a victim narrative. And despite claims there is some “political motive” I think its more harmful for Indigenous women not to call out hypersexualized depictions, or ignore that sexual violence took/takes place. (Especially given the high rates of violence Indigenous face) To ignore the dynamic of erasure taking place when we reduce Pocahontas to an “aesthetic/vibe” or Disney character and completely omit that history, contributes to the overall struggles that Native and Indigenous women face. To ignore that is also to downplay the history of genocide and violence that this country was founded upon, and just as statistics prove, history forgotten will continue, or repeat itself.
Regardless, I feel that Non Natives are reducing her by appropriating her identity and erasing the complexities of her life. By erasing her true life story that takes away any sense of resistance that she may have demonstrated, because people will never see her for who she was if they only want to see her as a Disney character.
Notice how the one post also includes the word “savage” which has historically been a slur against Native peoples and specifically paired to justify sexual violence towards Indigenous women. Not only does the use of this slur contribute to violence but it also speaks to the OP’s perception of Native people that they think this would be appropriate.
Now when it comes to intent of these post I also keep seeing the frequent response that “its just Disney!” As if that exempts any dynamic of imperialism/colonialism.
I have written about Disney in the past about their racist depictions of POC and Indigenous peoples. Knowing that, as well as the ways cartoons have historically been used for racism and war propaganda, the excuse that its a children’s movie does not exempt all criticisms.
If you want to learn how to honor Pocahontas read about the history from her own Tribe http://www.powhatan.org/pocc.html and talk to them about accurately representing her. In the meantime do not reduce her to an aesthetic or character and silence Natives who tell you its wrong. Do not weaponize a film that has been criticized as problematic and take away any potential it may have for those Natives who choose to reclaim it. (Thats for Native women to decide on how they feel, not for Non Natives to tone police and dictate)
*For those that claim Native they will be accountable from Tribal communities if they are using their claim to justify hypersexualization or appropriation of culture through Pocahontas. So the excuse “but im part Native!” isnt a exemption pass either*
And finally those who want to ignore the implications of Kourtney’s tweet with rhetoric that “its just ___” they are pretending that sexual violence, Genocide and the history of Kardashian family appropriating from other cultures, happens in a vacuum. Its been proven time and time again that they have an obsession with exploiting Native culture and Black culture. Its time to stop treating everything like a media stunt and examining the larger picture that these behaviors represent. They are complicit but also a mirror of US society, corporate interest, and popular media. While I despise feeding into any attention the Kardashians receive by addressing these acts of cultural imperialism I also recognize that other Non Natives will imitate them anyway and thats not a norm that I want encouraged without criticism.
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