Pocahontas Research Paper

The True Story of Pocahontas, written by Dr. Linwood “Little Bear” Custalow and Angela L. Daniel “Silver Star”, is a nonfiction novel that tells the tale of Pocahontas and the encounters of her tribe with John Smith and other English colonists who come over from Europe in the early 1600’s. Chapter three depicts how Pocahontas was used as a peace symbol by her tribe when entering the fort of the English, and how she became a peace symbol overall to the Powhatan people. This chapter tells about how the Powhatan people played a very influential part in the lives of the English colonists, especially during their first winter. The Powhatan people were very welcoming, and seeing how unprepared the colonists were for the harsh winters; they greatly

It is said that there are many different versions to a story. There is one persons story, then there is an other person’s story, and then, there is the truth. “Our memories change each time they are recalled. What we recall is only a facsimile of things gone by.” Dobrin, Arthur. "Your Memory Isn't What You Think It Is." (online magazine). Psychology Today. July 16, 2013. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/am-i-right/201307/your-memory-isnt-what-you-think-it-is. Every time a story is told, it changes. From Disney movies to books, to what we tell our friends and colleagues. Sometimes the different sides to the story challenge the

In her early life, Matoaka was a Powhatan Indian. She was born around 1595. 12 years later, John Smith arrived on the shore of present day Virginia. He would help create Jamestown. This settlement was very close to the Powhatan tribe. In 1616, John Smith wrote a letter to Queen Anne stating

For this research paper, I am providing you with the history of the Cherokee Indians. I have Cherokee Indian in my blood. My father’s family is fully Cherokee Indian. Both my Mother and my Father resided in North Carolina. Except on my Mother’s side, she isn’t any Native American of any kind. I am doing my research paper on the Cherokee Indians because it always perks my interest in hearing about my ancestors and what they did.

As young children we are often misled to believe that the stories and movies we are exposed to are presumably based on factual history, but are in reality myths, keeping the truthful, important, and fair facts hidden. Amonute is an accurate example of learning the real events that occurred in a person’s life while the typical myth of Pocahontas saved an Englishmen from being killed by her father. In the beginning of the book we are briefly introduced to Pocahontas, the Powhatan people and the English colonists. As the book continues we follow Pocahontas when she is kidnapped, her married life, and her trip to London where she got sick because of foreign illnesses and died. Camilla Townsends “Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma” wants Pocahontas’ true story to unfold because she is worthy of respect for her bravery and sacrifice and because “everyone subverted her life to satisfy their own needs to believe that the Indians loved and admired them” (Townsend, pg. xi). I also believe that the author was trying to argue that even though the Englishmen believed that the Native Americans were uncivilized and lived like savages, that instead they were wise people.

Pocahontas was born in 1595, with the given name of Matoaka and later got the nickname Pocahontas. She has been known as the favorite daughter of the powerful Powhatan Chief but she is also famous in history for contributing greatly toward the survival of the Jamestown colony. When the English colonists settled in Jamestown in 1607, there became tension between the Colonists and the Powhatan Indians. During the 1600s, the leader of the Colonists, Captain John Smith was caught by the Powhatan’s men. It has been said that Pocahontas saved Smith’s life and has had great influence on early relationships between the colonists and Indians. During Pocahontas’s life, she has faced many tragedies but triumphs have also played a role in her time.

Who was Pocahontas, you say? Well, I wondered the same thing. She was apart of the Powhatan Tribe. Being in that tribe, her father was the leader of it. Her real name was Matoaka, which meant “little snow feather.” As Pocahontas grew into a juvenile, she received the name Pocahontas, which meant “the naughty one” or “spoiled child.” Pocahontas had a beautiful life until the English colonists had arrived. They held her captive for a while. As they let her

Pocahontas was captured by Samuel Argall and during her captivity she became pregnant. The father was a mystery, but she was supposed to be marrying me. We got married on April 5, 1614 and then her baby was born on January 30, 1615. We were blessed with thousands of acres of land from Pocahontas’ father, Chief Powhatan. My wife, our baby, and I traveled to England on the ship, Treasurer, in 1616. Pocahontas was soon addressed by the name, Princess Pocahontas, because she was so widely respected. While in England, we visited Queen Anne and King James I. While in London, Pocahontas met John Smith who she thought was dead. We stayed and toured England for several months, and on our trip back home Pocahontas became very ill and died. I returned back to Virginia while Thomas, our son, stayed in England. I soon married the daughter of a colonist. Her name was Jane Pierce. Soon after we married, we had a daughter and named her Elizabeth. My house was on my tobacco plantation, and it was attacked by stupid Native Indians. I honestly don’t know why they hate me so much. It’s devastating. There, I was left stranded with no help, just lying in the grass. It’s my time to go…

[1] Disney’s Pocahontas has understandably received a lot of flak about the historically inaccurate story that is told about the legendary Pocahontas and Captain John Smith. There is a good reason for that. The movie does little that can be construed as historically accurate, yet Disney claims that was never their intent. Disney, in their previous movies, has been attacked for being racist and unsympathetic to racial minorities. Their answer was a movie whose sole purpose, as stated by Disney, was to promote racial tolerance. The question is, then can a movie promote racial tolerance when the issue is built on false history, history that if told accurately would depict the exact opposite?

In the year of 1827 the Cherokee Indians declared themselves a nation by drafting a constitution. “The discovery of gold was made just after the creation and passage of the original Cherokee Constitution” (“A Brief History of the Trail of Tears 1”). Aware that the native Indian land was in danger of being encroached upon by new settlers, the Indians went to the government to create an arrangement to protect their lands. “The Cherokees signed treaties ceding portions of their land to the United States” (Bjornlund 8).

Through the course of time, the human species has experience many changes on their environment. Humans have migrate to many places around the world that normally they are not suitable to live on. This event has made certain races of humans very suitable for particular environments. By the process of natural selection, each race of humans have dominant traits that increases their reproductive success. However, in this current time the world has become more connected. This has caused many changes in the environment, which is affecting in a negative way to certain demographics of people more than others. A huge example of this can be view on the native nation of Tohono O’odham and the changes during the decades of the area of Arizona.

When Pocahontas was 11 years old, the English arrived in Jamestown. In 1607 John Smith was captured and as he told it " stopped his execution". On the day he was to be killed it is said that his head was placed on a stone to be bashed, and Pocahontas laid her head on his and saved him. Pocahontas, being the chiefs daughter, was

The movie got that right. In both situations, they settled up the river flowing into the Chesapeake Bay and established a settlement that they called Jamestown, in honor of their king. At one point, the tribes and settlers did have many arguments, which on the end resulted in war. She was able to stop the tribe from killing John Smith, therefore saving his life. John Smith did have to go back to England, due to an injury, leaving Pocahontas.

Pocahontas is a story about a young girl who is in a native tribe and falls in love with a settler. I agree that Disney’s film, Pocahontas, is responsible accurate, and respectful. It shows the conflict between the natives and settlers. It also shows the most important events that happened.

In chapter two of “The True Story of Pocahontas,” the authors, Dr. Linwood Custalow and Angela L. Daniel explain the ways of the children of the Powhaton people. Childhood and adulthood is easily distinguished apart. Walking around without clothes, barefoot, with their hair uncut is how a common child of the tribe is seen. Despite the physical features, the children are more tied down when it comes to actions. They are provided with supervision and training so that they meet high expectations in their adult lives. When the Powhaton discover that the English came to their territory, they establish that they want to be allies. It is all well with the English, until they start using their guns, or “thunder sticks,” as the tribe calls them, to