In 1995, Disney introduced children everywhere to a Native American princess married 400 years ago today — Pocahontas.
The plot goes that Pocahontas, the beautiful daughter of Chief Powhatan, saves English adventurer John Smith from execution when British relations with the "savages" in the New World turned sour. Pocahontas even starts a romance with Smith, and the two almost sail away to Britain together at the end of the film.
History, however, tells a different and darker tale.
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Pocahontas has always been portrayed in a very positive light, so why on earth do her latter-day descendents find it necessary to bitch about that? these self-styled experts, who were NOT alive 400 years ago, have chosen to rewrite a chapter in our nations history rather than acknowledge as essentially truthful, even if embellished in places, the accounts of those who actually experienced it. exploiting, as always, ANY excuse to vilify whitey, and seek pity for themselves. the indians were not always the peaceful, defenseless victims of the evil "euro-americans" that they now like to portray themselves as being, and they regularly committed acts of appallingly bloody violence against not only the English, but their own people as well, just as they had for countless generations. now they would have us believe that John Smith's account is a complete fabrication, even though it proves Pocahontas to be a courageous and noble young woman, and THIS is how they choose to honor her memory? maybe Smith chose not to mention it for several years because he was embarrassed by the fact that he had gotten himself into a situation that led not only to his capture, but almost to his execution as well, and only the pluck and fortitude of a young indian girl saved his bacon. few men of his time, and even some today, would be willing to admit that they had been "saved by a girl"! but to his credit, he finally did tell the world of her selfless act, and that is why the great Pocahontas will never be forgotten.
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