Disney perpetuated the ugly rumor that Pocahontas was a “gentle savage,” who co-signed colonization.
“In Defense of Pocahontas: Disney’s Most Radical Heroine,” written by Sophie Gilbert and published by The Atlantic, defends Disney’s portrayal of the Powhatan historical figure, stating, “While its interpretation of history attracted considerable criticism, less was written about the fact that Disney had, for the first time, provided an independent and fearless heroine with a strong sense of self.”
The article goes on and on, praising the film for its environmentalism and progressive storyline.
A resounding, “What?” could be heard throughout Indian Country. Captain Save-a-Princess, stop trying to make Pocahontas happen.
Let it go. Let it go.
The Atlantic probably published the work thinking no Indian reads, or that no Indian would dare contest Gilbert’s flawless rhetoric.
Defending Disney’s version of a tale Europeans invented in the 18th century is just bad form.
Self-respecting Natives know Pocahontas, whose real name was Matoaka, couldn’t have been more than eleven when she supposedly saved John Smith.
Also, she was abducted.
We’re familiar with her story and maybe Gilbert should be too.
Disney’s Pocahontas is about as progressive as it could have been considering that its about a native woman in tight buckskin who falls for a white dude and speaks English, all while talking to the birds and trees.
Yep, progress.
No wonder why The Rainbow Family of Living Light want to occupy the sacred Black Hills — they think we can talk to animals and trees.
When they drink the mushroom tea, they think they can too.
Natives have always been valuable sources for hippies.
Rainbow Family member, Lillian Moore, writes in her letter to the editor at ICTMN, “My people are a community of orphans.
Most of us don’t know our history or our own spiritual lineage, and have never been on the land of our ancestors.
We are hungry to connect with the creator like everyone else and we are on the land that these lessons came from.
Isn’t it natural that we would feel called to burn sage and sing songs about the hawks?
It is good for everyone to pray. The prayer brings more awareness and compassion.”
Why do hippies think our land is cultural gold to strike rich on?
When I feel disconnected from the earth I take a walk.
I don’t sing about the hawks.
I only need to see a hawk to appreciate it.
I’m sorry, but we don’t have Indian superpowers.
If we did, I’m not sure we could transfer them to you, especially when you essentialize us.
There are Indians who have no lineage documented.
There are Indians who’ve lost their languages and practices thanks to Indian boarding school and laws which hindered practicing ceremony or having gatherings.
I hardly doubt the majority of Rainbow Family members are orphans.
They probably have parents who love them and are disappointed they think a hippie conquest is going to bring them closer to autonomy.
What brings me closer to autonomy is the real story of Pocahontas.
When I got tuberculosis, my mother told me about a Powhatan girl who got the European disease, just like me.
My mother told me about an Indian girl who turned to Christianity, just like my grandmother did after being taken into boarding school.
Disney perpetuated the ugly rumor that Pocahontas was a “gentle savage,” who co-signed colonization.
The Atlantic’s Sophie Gilbert would like me to adopt Disney’s Pocahontas, while, on the fringe, there’s a call for submission for Native artists to “Take Back Tiger Lily.”
Four Winds literary magazine is calling all Natives to reclaim Peter Pan’s Tiger Lily as our own.
They say, “Many argue that we ought to eschew Tiger Lily altogether, valorizing a more authentic character.
But she is still an Indian princess, the sort young girls on and off reservations across America look to as a model, having very few authentic representations of their lives in the public sphere.”
I don’t want Tiger Lily back anymore than I want Disney’s version of Pocahontas in my house. Tiger Lily is Europe’s nineteenth century depiction of their eighteenth century “Squaw.”
My kids have plenty of Indian women to look up to, and they will learn to abhor racist depictions just like I did.
I’m working to obliterate Tiger Lily and Disney’s Pocahontas while The Atlantic and Four Winds magazines are trying to save every decaying romantic image of Indian femininity.
I’m not some Captain Save-a-Princess.
Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie was a creepy man who inspired Michael Jackson. His writing depicted Indians as savages adorned with scalps.
I’m not a Captain Save-a-Hippie either.
I want everything that intrudes on Indian’s right to live without racism or romanticism to die along with the old racists who invented them. Get your Disney Princesses and get out.
(Terese Marie Mailhot is from Seabird Island, a place bound by the Mariah Slough and the Fraser River. She studies at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her work, “Heart Berries,” can be found in Carve magazine, and her story, “House Party,” is forthcoming in Yellow Medicine Review. This story was originally published on July 3, 2015.)
The true story of Pocahontas is not the story most people know. Here are the oral histories as told by the descendants of Pocahontas.
Despite what many people believe due to longstanding and inaccurate accounts in history books and movies such as Disney’s Pocahontas, the true story of Pocahontas is not one of a young Native Powhatan woman with a raccoon friend who dove off of mountain-like cliffs off the coasts of Virginia.
(Note: there are no cliffs on the coast of Virginia.)
The true story of Pocahontas is a tale of tragedy and heartbreak.
It is time to bust up the misconceptions perpetuated over 400 years regarding the young daughter of Powhatan chief Wahunsenaca.
The truth — gathered from years of extensive research of the historical record, books, and oral histories from self-identified descendants of Pocahontas and tribal peoples of Virginia — is not for the faint of heart.
A Warning To Our Readers: Mature Subject Matter Not Suitable for Children
The story of Pocahontas is a tragic tale of a young Native girl who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and allegedly murdered by those who were supposed to keep her safe.
Pocahontas’ Mother, Also Named Pocahontas, Died While Giving Birth to Her
This is in many historical accounts, though not always. It is important to note that Pocahontas was born to her mother, named Pocahontas and her father Wahunsenaca, (sometimes spelled Wahunsenakah), who later became the paramount chief.
Her name at birth was Matoaka, which means “flower between two streams,” and according to Mattaponi history was likely given to her because she was born between the two rivers of Mattaponi and Pamunkey (York).
Due to his wife’s death, Wahunsenaca was devastated and little Matoaka became his favorite because she looked like her mother.
She was raised by her aunts and other women of the Mattaponi tribe at Werowocomoco.
As was the custom at the time, as the Paramount Chief of the Powhatan Chiefdom, Wahunsenaca had other wives from the other villages and little Matoaka had many loving brothers and sisters.
Because of his lingering grief and due to the reminder she gave to him of her mother, Wahunsenaca often called his daughter the endearing name of Pocahontas.
John Smith Came to the Powhatan When Pocahontas Was about 9 or 10.
According to Mattaponi oral history, little Matoaka was possibly about 10 years old when John Smith and English colonists arrived in Tsenacomoca in the spring of 1607.
John Smith was about 27 years old.
They were never married nor involved.
The children of the Powhatan were very closely watched and cared for by all members of the tribe.
Since Pocahontas was living with her father, Chief Powhatan Wahunsenaca, at Werowocomoco, and because she was the daughter of a chief, she was likely held to even stricter standards and provided with more structure and cultural training.
When she was a child, John Smith and English colonists stayed near the Powhatan on the nearby Jamestown Island, but later began to explore outlying areas.
Smith was feared by many Native people because he was known to enter villages and put guns to heads of chiefs demanding food and supplies.
In the winter of 1607, the colonists and Smith met with Powhatan warriors and Smith was captured by the chief’s younger brother.
Because the English and Powhatan feared the actions of the Spanish, they formed an alliance.
Eventually and according to oral history and contemporary written accounts by the Mattaponi, Wahunsenaca grew to like Smith, eventually offering him the position of ‘werowance’ or leader of the colonists as recognized by the Powhatan as well as a much more livable area for his people with great access to game and seafood.
Years later, Smith alleged that Pocahontas saved his life in the four-day process of becoming a werowance.
But according to Mattaponi oral and contemporary written accounts, there would be no reason to kill a man designated to receive an honor by the chief.
Additionally, children were not allowed to attend any sort of religious ritual similar to the werowance ceremony.
She could not have thrown herself in front of John Smith to beg for his life for two reasons: Smith was being honored, and she would not have been allowed to be there.
Some historical accounts claim Pocahontas defied her father to bring food to the colonists of Jamestown.
According to the history of the Mattaponi tribe as well as simple facts, these claims could not be true.
Jamestown was 12 miles from Werowocomoco and the likelihood that a 10-year-old daughter would travel alone are inconsistent with Powhatan culture.
She as well as other tribal members did travel to Jamestown, but as a gesture of peace.
Additionally, travel to Jamestown required crossing large bodies of water and the use of 400-pound dugout canoes.
It took a team of strong people to lift them into the water.
It is likely Pocahontas served as a symbol of peace by simply being present as a child among her people to show no ill intentions when her people met with the Jamestown settlers.
In 1608 and 1609, John Smith’s role as the werowance (chief) of the colonists had taken an ugly turn.
The colonists made inadequate attempts to plant crops to harvest, and Smith violently demanded supplies from surrounding villages after once again holding a gun to the heads of village leaders.
Accounts from Mattaponi histories tell of one tribal woman proclaiming to Smith, “You call yourself a Christian, yet you leave us with no food for the winter.”
Pocahontas’ father, who had befriended Smith, once said to him, “I have not treated any of my werowances as well as you, yet you are the worst werowance I have!”
Smith claimed Wahunsenaca wanted to kill him, and asserted he knew of the plot because Pocahontas had come to warn him.
Due to the icy conditions at the time and because of the many watchful eyes attending to the daughter of a chief, as well as gestures of peace by the Powhatan to include additional provisions, Native historians rebuff the historical claims of Smith as completely fabricated.
To further prove Smith’s tale was a fabrication, a letter by Smith written in 1608 was published without Smith’s knowledge.
The letter makes no claim of Pocahontas trying to save his life on two separate occasions.
It wasn’t until Smith published his book General Historie of Virginia in 1624 that he claimed Pocahontas had twice saved his life.
Any of the people who could have refuted Smith’s claims by that time were no longer alive.
The early 1600s were a horrible time for tribes near Werowocomoco.
Native tribes once comfortable wearing clothing suitable for summer — including exposed breasts for Native women and little or nothing for children — found themselves being sexually targeted by English colonists.
Young children were targets of rape and Native women in the tribe would resort to offering themselves to men to keep their children safe.
The Powhatan people were shocked by the behavior and were horrified that the English government offered them no protections.
In the midst of the horrible and atrocious acts committed by the colonists, Matoaka was coming of age.
During a ceremony, Matoaka was to choose a new name, and she selected Pocahontas, after her mother.
During a courtship dance, it is likely she danced with Kocoum, the younger brother of Potowomac Chief Japazaw.
She married the young warrior at about 14 and soon became pregnant.
It was at this time rumors began to surface that colonists planned to kidnap the beloved chief’s daughter Pocahontas.
When Pocahontas was about 15 or 16, the rumors of a possible kidnapping had become more of a threat and she was living with her husband Kocoum at his Potowomac village.
An English colonist by the name of Captain Samuel Argall sought to find her, thinking that a captured daughter of the chief would thwart attacks by Natives.
Hearing of her whereabouts, Argall came to the village and demanded Chief Japazaw, brother of Pocahontas’ husband, to give up Pocahontas or suffer violence against his village.
Overcome with grief at a horrible choice, he relented with a hopeful promise that she would only be gone temporarily.
That was a promise Argall quickly broke.
Before Argall left the village, he gave Chief Japazaw a copper pot.
He later claimed to have traded it for her. This “trade” is still taught by historians.
This is akin to the way that Smith ‘traded’ for corn by holding a gun to the heads of chiefs.
Before leaving the village, Pocahontas had to give her baby (referred to as little Kocoum) to the women of the village.
Trapped on board an English ship, she was not aware that when her husband returned to their village, he was killed by the colonists.
The tribal chiefs of the Powhatan never retaliated for the kidnapping of Pocahontas, fearing they would be captured and that the beloved daughter of the chief and the “Peace Symbol of the Powhatan” might be harmed.
According to Dr. Linwood Custalow, a historian of the Mattaponi Tribe and the custodian of the sacred oral history of Pocahontas, soon after being kidnapped, she was suffering from depression and was growing more fearful and withdrawn.
Her extreme anxiety was so severe her English captors allowed Pocahontas’ eldest sister Mattachanna and her husband Uttamattamakin to come to her aid.
Dr. Custalow writes in his book, The True Story of Pocahontas, The Other Side of History, that when Mattachanna and her husband Uttamattamakin, a spiritual advisor to Chief Wahunsenaca, Pocahontas confided in her sister.
When Mattachanna and Uttamattamakin arrived at Jamestown, Pocahontas confided in that she had been raped.
Mattaponi sacred oral history is very clear on this: Pocahontas was raped.
It is possible that it had been done to her by more than one person and repeatedly.
My grandfather and other teachers of Mattaponi oral history said that Pocahontas was raped.
The possibility of being taken captive was a danger to be aware of in Powhatan Society, but rape was not tolerated.
Rape in Powhatan Society was virtually unheard of because the punishment for such actions was so severe. Powhatan society did not have prisons.
Punishment for wrongful actions often consisted of banishment from the tribe.
Historians differ on where Pocahontas was held, but tribal historians believe she was likely held in Jamestown, but was relocated to Henrico when she was pregnant.
Pocahontas had a son, Thomas.
John Rolfe Married Pocahontas to Create a Native Alliance in Tobacco Production
Mattaponi history is clear that Pocahontas had a son out of wedlock, Thomas, prior to her marriage to John Rolfe.
Prior to that marriage, the colonists pressed Pocahontas to become “civilized” and often told her that her father did not love her because he had not come to rescue her.
Pocahontas often tore off her English clothes, because they were uncomfortable.
Eventually, Pocahontas was converted to Christianity and took the name Rebecca.
In the midst of her captivity, the English colony of Jamestown was failing. John Rolfe was under a 1616 deadline to become profitable or lose the support of England.
Rolfe sought to learn tobacco curing techniques from the Powhatan, but curing tobacco was a sacred practice not to be shared with outsiders.
Realizing the political strength of aligning himself with the tribe, he eventually married Pocahontas.
Though some historians claim Pocahontas and Rolfe married for love, it is not a certainty, as Pocahontas was never allowed to see her family, child or father after being kidnapped.
After the two were married, the Powhatan spiritual leaders and family to Pocahontas shared the curing practice with Rolfe.
Soon afterward, Rolfe’s tobacco was a sensation in England, which saved the colony of Jamestown, as they finally found a profitable venture.
The Powhatan tribal lands were now highly sought after for the tobacco trade and the tribe suffered great losses of life and land at the hands of greedy tobacco farmers.
It is worth noting that though it was custom for a Powhatan father to give away his daughter at a marriage, Wahunsenaca did not attend the wedding of his daughter to Rolfe for fear of being captured or killed.
He did send a strand of pearls as a gift.
As Dr. Custalow wrote in The True Story of Pocahontas, The Other Side of History:
Although Wahunsenaca did not attend the wedding, we know through sacred Mattaponi oral history that he gave Pocahontas a pearl necklace as a wedding gift.
The pearls were obtained from the Chesapeake Bay oyster beds.
The necklace was notable for the large size and fine quality of the pearls.
Pearls of the size were rare, making them a suitable gift for a paramount chief’s daughter.
No mention of this necklace has been found in the English writings, but a portrait of Pocahontas wearing a pearl necklace used to hang in the Gov.’s mansion in Richmond.
Rumors of the colonist’s desire to bring Pocahontas made its way to the Powhatan, who feared for her well-being and considered an attempt to rescue her.
But Wahunsenaca feared his daughter might be harmed.
Rebecca “Pocahontas” Rolfe traveled to England with John Rolfe, her son Thomas Rolfe, Captain John Argall (who had kidnapped her) and several Native tribal members, including her sister Mattachanna.
Though many settlers were committing atrocities against the Powhatan, many elites in England did not approve of the mistreatment of natives.
The bringing of Pocahontas to England to show friendship with Native nations was a key to continued financial support for the colonists.
According to the accounts of Mattachanna, she realized that she was being used and desperately desired to return home to her father and little Kocoum.
During her travels in England, Pocahontas did meet John Smith and expressed outrage due to the mistreatment of his position as leader of the colonists and the betrayal to the Powhatan people.
After the journey and showing off of Pocahontas to the English elites, plans were made to return to Virginia in the spring of 1617.
According to a recounting by Mattachanna, she was in good health while in England and on the ship preparing to go home.
Shortly after dinner with Rolfe and Argall, she vomited and died.
Those tribal members who were accompanying her, including her sister Mattachanna, said she was in previously good health and assessed she must have been poisoned due to her sudden death.
According to Mattaponi oral history, many of the Native people accompanying Pocahontas were sold as servants or carnival attractions or sent to Bermuda if they became pregnant after being raped and sold into slavery.
Pocahontas was just under 21 at the time of her death. Instead of being taken home and laid to rest with her father, Rolfe and Argall took her to Gravesend, England, where she was buried at Saint George’s Church, March 21, 1617.
Though Virginia tribes have requested that her remains returned for repatriation, officials in England say the exact whereabouts of her remains are not known.
Wahunsenaca learned from Mattachanna that his beloved daughter had died but had never betrayed her people, as some historians claim.
Heartbroken that he had not ever rescued his daughter, he died from grief less than a year after the death of Pocahontas.
Oral histories of both the Mattaponi and Patawomeck and historical references say she mothered two children, Thomas Rolfe, who was left in England after the death of his mother, and ‘little Kocoum.’
According to Deyo, Little Kocoum was the name that Dr. Linwood Custalow used for the purpose of his book to reference a small child whose name was not yet known. In the sacred oral history of the Mattaponi, the child was raised by the Patawomeck Tribe.
The name of that child was passed down in the Patawomeck oral history was discovered to be Ka-Okee, a daughter.
This lineage to Ka-Okee includes the world-famous entertainer Wayne Newton, a member of the Virginia state-recognized Powhatan Patawomeck tribe.
Thomas Rolfe stayed in England and was educated there.
He later returned to the Powhatan as an adult.
He was married and had many descendants.
A special thank you to the following sources:
Mattaponi Tribal Historian, Dr. Linwood ‘Little Bear’ Custalow, and Angela L. Daniel “Silver Star’ for the book The True Story of Pocahontas, The Other Side of History
Pamunkey Chief Robert Gray
Patawomeck Chief John Lightner
Powhatan Patawomeck Tribal Historian Bill Deyo
Countless council members and tribal members of the 11 tribes in Virginia, who have been gracious in sharing their stories.
Vincent SchillingIndian Country Today After adding cultural advisories to racially-questionable films in October 2020, the online streaming
After adding cultural advisories to racially-questionable films in October 2020, the online streaming platform Disney Plus has now blocked the accounts of children under 7 from watching several films due to “negative depictions of race.”
Disney created the initiative called “Stories Matter” to address racially-offensive and stereotypical images and themes that have appeared in past films, such as “Dumbo,” “Peter Pan.”
The “Stories Matter” webpage includes statements about inclusion, along with videos of people from diverse communities addressing representation.
“As part of our ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion, we are in the process of reviewing our library and adding advisories to content that includes negative depictions or mistreatment of people or cultures,” read one website statement.
“Rather than removing this content, we see an opportunity to spark conversation and open dialogue on history that affects us all. We also want to acknowledge that some communities have been erased or forgotten altogether, and we’re committed to giving voice to their stories as well.”
The films with cultural advisories are “The Aristocats” and “Lady and the Tramp” for Asian stereotypes, “Dumbo” due to scenes of crows portraying Black minstrel singers, “Peter Pan” for the stereotypes of Native people and traditions, “Swiss Family Robinson” for several ethnic stereotypes by pirates and “The Jungle Book” for its stereotypical portrayal of monkeys that refers to Black people.
Since the site first appeared, Disney has removed the potentially offensive images.
“Peter Pan” previously appeared on Disney’s ‘Stories Matter’ wegpage with an explanation of the racially offensive stereotypes.
“The Aristocats” previously appeared on Disney’s ‘Stories Matter’ wegpage with an explanation of the racially offensive stereotypes.
“Swiss Family Robinson” previously appeared on Disney’s ‘Stories Matter’ wegpage with an explanation of the racially offensive stereotypes.
“Dumbo” previously appeared on Disney’s ‘Stories Matter’ wegpage with an explanation of the racially offensive stereotypes.
Disney Plus has not offered any comments on films such as “Pocahontas” — a film that does not include a cultural advisory message — nor revealed what other films might be subject to receive warnings or restrictions from under-7 accounts in the foreseeable future.
Sonny Skyhawk, Rosebud Sioux, an actor and advocate for his nonprofit American Indians in Film & Television, said that the company’s efforts are a step in the right direction.
“Pocahontas has been the poster child film for what is commonly known as appropriation.
The name Pocahontas draws people’s attention due to the history of the name,” Skyhawk said.
“But it is the poster child of racism. In reality, it’s about a young girl with a tragic history. The film turned into everything besides that.”
Skyhawk also noted that the stereotype tied to the name Pocahontas wasn’t helped when former President Trump referred to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren as Pocahontas.
“We need to bring people up to the 21st century. Native mascots and imagery should not be used as a vehicle for racism,” Skyhawk said.
Though these films will remain on the Disney Plus site, another film, “Song of the South,” which has been criticized for its racial-themes and Black stereotypes, is not on the platform.
The page also has a video which is opened by actress Geena Davis.
“There is incredible power in seeing someone who’s like you on screen, what our children see sets the framework for what they believe is possible in life,” says Davis in the video.
“What message are we sending to little kids at the most vulnerable age? If characters are one dimensional, stereotyped, sidelined, hypersexualized, or simply not there at all.”
Other comments include statements on Black, Asian and Native American culture and stereotypes and sexual orientation.
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