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Graveyard Fox

Think about that next time you want to dress up as a sexualized stereotype of a Native woman.

Let’s talk about Disney’s Pocahontas…

Disney’s story of Pocahontas is based on the story of a young girl named Matoaka.  Matoaka was actually a real Native American child. However, when Disney stole her story, they whitewashed it to glamorize the relationship between her and John Smith and erase the real trauma she endured. So, let’s clear some things up.

First, let’s start with the differences in age. In Disney’s story they have her at the age of 18. However at the time of their meeting, she would have only been around 10 years old. 

Next, let’s clear up the famous relationship. Even though Disney focused on John Smith and Pocahontas’ relationship they never really had one. According to Mattaponi history John Smith and young Matoaka (Pocahantas) were never involved. In Disney’s version, she threw herself in front of John Smith to save him from her father. However in reality Smith was honored and given a title by the chief, so there was no need for her to actually save him. 

Disney spun the rest of her story in many ways to ensure the erasure of what really happened to this Pocahontas and make it seem like a heroic journey but here’s the reality:

 Her tribe, the Powhatan endured suffering at the hands of the colonists. Native women and children were raped and others were murdered. 

At age 14, Pocahontas married a warrior son of a chief and had a child. At age 15 or 16 her husband was killed and she was kidnapped, leaving her baby behind. From there, she was raped repeatedly. She had a child named Thomas before finally being married to John Rolfe. 

Not only did this young girl endure being kidnapped and raped, she also endured emotional abuse. She was often told that her father did not love her because he did not come to save her. Eventually she was forcefully assimilated and converted to Christianity. She then took the name of Rebecca. She died when she was around 21 years old. 

As you can see, Pocahontas isn’t just a made up character. She was a young native girl who had her story stolen and glamorized.  Disney whitewashing her story is erasure. It doesn’t make it okay and it does not make what this child endured go away. You play ignorant and try and pretend that the character are separate, but just because Disney changed the details doesn’t mean they are separate people. A child who endured trauma and rape is not yours to play dress up as and she’s certainly not yours to sexulize. Have some respect. And no, native people you don’t get a free pass on this. Native people deserve more than the only representation we have to be a whitewashed version of a young child which promotes native erasure.