Chief Powatan stands shrouded in flickering shade amongst the forests of coastal Virginia, his arm raised, wooden club poised to strike the man who lay cowering beneath him. This man, with his pale skin and fair hair, is one of them. The ones trying to claim their ancestral lands. The ones who steal their precious food and burn their villages to the ground. This man must die. Suddenly, a streak of golden skin, a flash of black hair, and his beloved Pocahontas now lies beneath the club. She stares up at him, eyes flashing. “If you kill him, you’ll have to kill me too.” Pocahontas may very well be the best known indigenous historical figure ever. That’s mostly thanks to the 1995 animated Disney film. You know the one, where Pocahontas falls in love, despite herself, with the dashing Captain John Smith, heartthrob of every 90’s tween. It’s all very romantic. But did you know, the real John Smith completely fabricated his relationship with Pocahontas in order to cast himself as the hero in his own twisted history? Let’s fix that. 

Sources: 

• PBS NOVA "The Science of Jamestown"
• Williamsburg Yorktown Daily "Women's History Month: The Real Story of Pocahontas"
• Encyclopedia Virginia "Thomas Savage"
• National Park Service "Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend"
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History "Struggling to Survive"
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History "Discovering Jane"
• Short History of podcast episode "Pocahontas"

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