The Truth Behind the Legend of Pocahontas

Disney's portrayal of Pocahontas is... problematic. Are there parallels between historical myths and the plight of Native women today? Join host Tai Leclaire to discover how settler culture, the white male savior complex, racism in the media, and harmful stereotypes contribute to the ongoing MMIW2S crisis.
You can watch the incredible new season of Native America now - head to www.pbs.org/native-america to learn more.
A People’s History of Native America is a digital miniseries that explores the current social climate in Native America and the factors that have shaped contemporary circumstances. Laugh and learn with comedian Tai Leclaire and experts as they chronicle the accurate history with humor and brevity.
A People's History of Native America is produced by Mahebe Media for PBS.
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[@Caterfree10]

I tell you what, wanting to know more about the real Pocahontas after watching the Disney movie was one hell of a betrayal. Pretty sure that’s the beginning of how constantly frustrated I am at how distorted history is to hide the horrible things the US and other countries have done across the centuries. Thanks for radicalizing me, Disney!

[@markadams7046]

Disney animation shows aren't documentaries, they are meant to be entertainment with the understanding that children are watching. This is not to say that this makes it Disney's depiction okay, because things were obviously worse than the Disney animation show and leaves children growing up with a false tale, a tale that is akin to the false tale of Washington chopping a cherry tree and saying "I cannot tell a lie." But also, don't expect a 100% true to life story if entertainment is the primary goal.

[@Caterfree10]

@@markadams7046 I mean. I was like 6 when the movie came out, so it’s not like I had that understanding yet. If anything, it makes how badly Disney warped the history worse imo. But don’t worry, my history classes were also hard at work sanitizing history and I wouldn’t be unpacking that until goddamn college. 8)

[@RevShifty]

@@markadams7046 Most people are children when they first watch Disney movies, and I hate to break it to you but children aren't exactly known for their understanding of detailed history, context, nuance, or even mythology, which is what this kind of steep sterilization works out to being. And it's not like much US history is taught with much more nuance or historical reality than Disney cartoons, until college if you're lucky or certain AP classes if you're even luckier.

[@markadams7046]

When I say with children in mind, I mean they are not going to depict extremely violent and horrific events that happened in real life. It would just be too much for the young minds to grasp without some degree of trauma, so they obviously can't portray those truths.@@RevShifty

[@RevShifty]

@@markadams7046 They can definitely at least acknowledge them in some fashion. Absolutely no one is saying it needs graphic depiction. But cannibalizing and then sanitizing a genuinely terrible story just to release it on the anniversary to help sell the fantasy and gain all the extra clout isn't doing anyone but Disney any good. And people don't get to be surprised when those same children grow up, learn a bit of the actual story, and then have a problem with what Disney did. There were plenty of people blasting them for it at the time. I was barely a teenager myself and had already stopped watching Disney anything years before then, but I still remember comedians and the like mortified by what Disney did with that movie.

[@sbhatti534]

She was just a child of ten years or so when she encountered John Smith and was dead by twenty. Truly disgusting what the European colonisers did to her and her people.

[@NormaJeanReese]

That's so sad!😪

[@cxa011500]

Don't put the blame on entire group, put it on John Smith and the individuals involved.

[@user-vx9zi6bx9k]

Ummm ​@@cxa011500 They're all together responsible for that outcome.. That's a sad but true story of the reality that they are in different ways, responsible for.... GENOCIDE that is factually not over. Not by any means. Looking at the rate of the murder and disappearances of native women and The disregard for their people.. Also the MANY pipeline cases that are imposed on their landscape that are threatening the water and the sanctity of the last few acres of sanctuary ALLOWED to them after the countless amounts of retracted contracts with the literal federal government, to name the most obvious elements of the Genocidal practices they endure

[@kaytee5031]

@@cxa011500are you stupid?

[@roundtwo3321]

@@cxa011500 Those two men didn't operate in a vacuum. The entire system was set up to support and protect many man like Smith and Rolfe for hundreds of years. So, it wasn't just those two guys and their immediate friends, it was everyone who didn't stop them.

[@rebeccamd7903]

I am a descendant of Pocahontas and I appreciate the acknowledgment of her story to highlight an important and very necessary movement. Thank you!

[@teovu5557]

So youre a descendant of James Rowdy her only son???

[@Bethelaine1]

She had son who survived and he had descendants.

[@maapauu4282]

​@@teovu5557Firstly, James was her husband. Thomas was her son. Secondly, he wasn't her only child. Or only son, for that matter. Before being taken by the British, she had children with her first husband

[@teovu5557]

@@maapauu4282 Why you lying? No sources says a "james' was her husband. And would love to see your source where it says she had prior children. lol

[@maapauu4282]

@@teovu5557 I'm not lying. I did make a mistake, however. Because both James and John begin with J, somehow I confused the two. However, where did you get James Rowdy from? Look it up anywhere. Her son was Thomas Rolfe. You might have gotten confused because Jane was the name of Thomas's daughter, but where did Rowdy come from? According to the national park service, there is evidence indicating that Pochahontas and Kocoum had a child

[@widowkeeper4739]

I was already a young adult when Pocahontas came out, and I remember native peoples across the country speaking up about this very thing. Even white people were like "WTF is this, Disney."

[@advocacynaccountablity]

Exactly. I remember the movie being released and my friends and I were like, "Nope." That John Smith narrative was always BS.

[@hsmd4533]

Wow, even white people? Murderous, heartless, inhumane, animalistic white people?

[@coffeeguyd]

I was also one of those white people, lol. I tried watching it for the first time years after the original release during a Disney marathon with the family, so we could say we finally caught up and watched all the animated films. I could only barely make it past the opening credits before i had to tap out from how whitewashed it felt. Still have never seen it, and don't have any plan to.

[@emilyakalbun5540]

Really? Even white people? I had no idea it was that disliked. I first watched it as a child and was only exposed to it being liked. Thats interesting. Honestly, I look back and feel revolted and appalled it was even made.

[@23_Beans]

Walt Disney was a Natzi sympathizer. What did you expect?

[@katherinelynch4193]

I just find it viscerally disgusting that Disney includes their version of Pocahontas in the Princess brand to this day. It’s the most racist movie they’ve made in the last 40 years at least. With their other movies like this, they try to downplay it: no Peter Pan merchandise includes Tiger Lily, and you’ll never see the slave centaur from Fantasia anytime soon. But since they’re so short on positive role models for Native American girls, this real life victim of horrific violence is slapped on backpacks and soup cans for little girls to consume.

[@julietfischer5056]

Not only that, she wasn't a princess in any way. Most Native American nations did not have royalty. I think the closest to royalty would be such civilizations as the Maya, Aztec, Inka, etc., but not in the European understanding. It's a perpetuation of the legend that John Smith himself started, and there's at least one good reason for doubting the whole 'saved by Pocahontas' claim: medieval stories were full of the daughters of non-Christian sultans and kings falling for the knightly Christian protagonists. (The other is that Smith liked to stretch the truth and even lie.) And we desperately want the whole thing to be a romantic story rather than one of kidnapping, rape, and abuse.

[@LeBasfondMusic]

They have started putting Tiger Lilly on merchandise. They have no shame. 🤢

[@c.d.dailey8013]

Good point. Disney merchandise also doesn't include the crows from Dumbo, the cats from Lady and the Tramp, and the orangutan from Jungle Book. That would be so uncomfortable, and that is putting it mildly.

[@AN-sm3vj]

@@acmulhern I agree, at the end of day it is a kids movie and when I was little the only character I really related to as a little brown girl. It also primed me to respect the environment and be critical of colonialism. The movie is not on the settler's side and depicts most of them as greedy and disgusting. It's unfortunate that the core of the movie is a love story depicting real people. They could have easily made it into a fantasy and decoupled it from John Smith and his atrocious actions. I will say that I don't think Pocahontas was overly sexualized. She's just as attractive as every other good character in the movie, including the men.

[@ldbarthel]

On one level, w/ Pocahontas, Disney did what they ALWAYS do: they appropriate a story and repackage it for mass marketing. They were simply less subtle than usual. But, thanks to their manipulation of copyright terms, they will continue to profit off their Disneyfied Pocahontas for the foreseeable future. Recognizing her as the first documented instance of MMIW is long overdue.

[@erinmac4750]

It seems like there's something that could be done legally, but then I'm not an attorney......

[@RodeoDogLover]

This is one of those stories that makes me wish for a different KZbin button, one that give the creators credit for their good work, but doesn’t necessitate tapping a thumbs up button for such a horrific, ongoing tragedy. Thank you for helping to re-educate those of us who were underserved by the prevailing educational system.

[@latyshal.2286]

Thank you for sharing this knowledge. I'm not a Native American woman, but I am very familiar with MMIP and they very seldom get any media attention. Regardless of racial/ethnic identity, we all need to change this for the better. They deserve justice, too. ✊🏾❤

[@alchemyarts3490]

It's appalling to me how many non-indigenous women willfully choose to only see their race's anti-female atrocities. When in actuality we could be offering a gigantic network of support and visibility. It's not merely the responsibility of those who are victimized by this brand of bigotry and violence, but the responsibility of those who have strength in numbers to bring awareness and change to those who need support most. I forget who said that until all are free none truly are.

[@SheilaTheGrate]

Thank you for highlighting this important issue. The colonial justice system has failed the indigenous people of the world so many times.

[@advocacynaccountablity]

It was not built for them... Native peoples weren't even considered. We have much to address, heal, honor, and change.

[@raguelelnaqum]

Great video, although I would cautiously point out that Pocahontas is far from the first case example of the MMIP crisis. In the Anglophonic colonial sphere this was the case, but French, Dutch, Spanish & Portuguese colonizers were already doing this long before the English arrived, and in modern parts of New England where French Trappers & Portuguese fishermen were before the English arrived they had already done so multiple times. You could even extrapolate this further to include Inuit & Algonquin captives of the Vikings. Iceland has people descended from captives of those communities despite their disturbing pontification of 'racial purity' (they also have Irish & Scottish heritage as well from both raid captives & Irish Papar monks that populated the island before Scandinavians arrived). This doesn't absolve the English by any means especially when you consider how the English were far more likely to have mixed-race Indigenous persons killed than even the Dutch, who shared similar anti-interracial attitudes & inclinations for eradicating indigenous populations, and popularized the trend of scalping by posting bounties on rival indigenous leader's scalps to foster hostility between different indigenous groups & exploit the conflict to both seize more land & profit by selling different groups supplies. But it is important to avoid narrowing the scope of how common this trend was & how long it has been going on. It would be better to put emphasis on how Anglophonic nations, while not he first nations to engage in this protracted act of genocide, they (referring Canada, the US, England as it ruled over both of them, Australia & New Zealand as well because they have similar problems with their indigenous Austro-Melanesian & Polynesian populations) have managed to turn it into a horrifying system that is arguably unique in its insidiousness & lethality.

[@lmeeken]

And even regarding figures well-known to Anglophones, the absolute terrors that Columbus brought upon Indigenous women and girls predate the Pocahontas narrative by about a century.

[@iraj.bolden2937]

In shorter terms Pocahontas wasn’t fair skinned like the people want to believe. She was black.

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

Greetings. Librarian here, worked decades in historical bibliography. I'd wish to point out that the Spanish had not a genocidal policy towards indigenous peoples. Yes, the Spanish conquests were anything but peaceful, but they were wars. The Spanish counted on the local population as a work force, it wasn't in their own interest to annihilate and substitute them to become labourers themselves. There were royal laws related to the treatment of natives, and the missionaries defended them from the worst tendencies of the conquistadors. The proof of all this is in the many interracial marriages happening since the beginnings of the conquest, and the current ethnic makeup of American countries. Where the English, Dutch, and even French and Portuguese established, the peoples are mostly descendants from Europeans or slaves with little mixing with or presence of natives; in the former Spanish colonies, the natives are strongly present in the ethnic mix and culture. Mexican cuisine is native, not Spanish.

[@raguelelnaqum]

@@MariaMartinez-researcher what a coincidence, I am also a librarian with years of historical bibliographic experience. Which is why I'm surprised as a historiographer, as to why you forgot to differentiate on-paper policy with effective practice, especially during the early Spanish conquest. The Spanish definitively genocides multiple indigenous ethnic groups in the Carribean, including the eponymous Caribs, Arowak peoples, Taino peoples, as well as mainland Carribean peoples such as the Seminole and Western Tepuis. Again, the Spanish were leagues ahead of other colonizers, but there well-recorded (out right bragged about in some cases) attempts to commit full scale genocide against several groups. In addition, if we include the revolutionary governments of former colonies, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia and Chile all are examples of Spanish language colonizer governments that committed acts of genocide as a matter of state policy. On top of that, just because the monarchy instituted legal protections, did not mean that the colonial governments didn't sometimes institute their own counterlegal policies. There was a well recorded trend of indigenous communities petitioning monasteries to send representatives to the Spanish crown when colonial governments began genocidal activities to get the local leadership replaced. The fact that they had to do so in the first place is clear evidence that genocidal sentiments were still present and acted upon in colonial societies, even if not to the degree of their non-Spanish language counterparts. To say otherwise is to buy into centuries of propaganda in a way that is antithetical to lessons we learned as historiographers, especially with the plethora of first person accounts of Spanish colonists perpetrating genocide from not only the victims and observers, but the perpetrators themselves.

[@indigolambart]

I was excited as a kid to go see pocahontas... I also immediately hated it. I had been dropped off with my half brother's family. By the time I was 7, I was cooking, cleaning, and in charge of caring for my younger siblings. As an adult I found out what happened to my real mother. She was just a body left in the desert, 16 years old and taken by my father a half native half white man. The fake ' medicine man' speech pattern... it was all very awful to me... and it got worse at school where kids started mimicking it. I still hate that this is the native representstion in kids films. I am now raising my young nephew. I want him to see the positive in all sides of himself being triracial without glossing over facts and treating real tragedy as a joke.

[@athenahitchin7738]

Sadly it was when I was a kid and this cartoon came out that I was introduced to this wanting to read more as a little nerdy girl about it. What happened to her and how John Smith and John Rolfe did to her and exploited her for gain made me sickened at the western colonist.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Nice to see Tai’ hosting this series and I’m happy this exists.

[@brianjennings1]

Another thing they didn't touch on... A high percentage of Native men and women were forced to be sterilized in the 50s-90s while being treated for non related procedures.

[@S3lkie-Gutz]

Especially in Arctic Canada and greenland, Denmark had an entire program dedicated to it. I didn't expect it to be covered in a short video like this but it's still important for people to know. I am disabled and of indigenous descent, if I had lived during that time period I would've definitely been forcefully sterilized for one "reason" or another. Let's just call it by its real name, eugenics.

[@benokelberry5915]

When I first read about her story, it said that she became sick on the journey home. How did we find out she was poisoned? And why was she not buried at home?

[@chowh.9443]

I was thinking the same thing. Of all the videos and writings I've watched and read on Pocahontas, there's definitely new information splashed in here. Not to say it's at all false, but just something I've never come across. Of course, history = "his story," so common misinformation doesn't surprise me.

[@joyyoung3108]

I thought she was sick on the journey home too, small pox.

[@sarahwatts7152]

From what I know (I'm not an expert, just interested), she was "sick," which could have meant a European illness or being poisoned. It was an awfully convenient time for her to die for John Rolfe though... She was buried in England because she died closer to England than Virginia

[@lauralafauve5520]

I had heard she died of illness, too.

[@mlee-w664]

Yeah I'm going to need some citation on that, I've never heard anyone say she was poisoned

[@notashroom]

Thank you so much for this. When Disney's Pocahontas came out, my kids were prime age to market to. I was not about to let their version of her story be my kids' default. I knew the truth and was so horrified that Disney was selling a child predator as a hero, and his young prey as a romantic heroine. Every time we turned down an opportunity to watch it was an opportunity to teach, tho.

[@bieassialaw6832]

This saddened my heart 💔 I'm so sorry Indigenous females are experiencing this 😢

[@os2958]

Thank you. Excellent job on covering this extremely important tragic situation. We must do better.

[@chhe5433]

WTF! Non-natives can't be tried on Tribal lands! that is insane and scary....

[@mj1234321]

I was aware of the movie when it came out but never actually saw it. I knew pretty early on that it was outrageously inaccurate but then I learned a lot more about the true history when I went to grad school at William & Mary and lived in Williamsburg, visited the museums in places like Jamestown, etc. I don't recall the poisoning thing though. I thought she got pneumonia or dysentery. Her life story is tragic in any case, as is much of the history since then and up to this day, but I do hope that there is positive change taking place. And while as a white guy of strictly European heritage I have no ties to native culture, I do sincerely hope we can preserve the knowledge of native languages and traditions that hasn't yet been lost. As a young kid I lived in Farmington, NM for a couple of years and was very much aware of Navajo people and language, as well as the ancient Anasazi/Pueblo sites. But out east most Algonquian and Iroquoian languages are pretty much extinct. I do think that's a shame.

[@toddgreener]

I really related to the joke about mansplaining and contacting people smarter than me. Spot on!

[@ponyote]

Thank you for raising awareness. These women need their voice amplified.

[@kimaniquetta6526]

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video! 🧡 It's extremely important especially during this day and age

[@AuntieMamies]

This is heartbreaking. We've been failing the indigenous people for hundreds of years. I just found out that when my ancestors went through the potato famine the Choctaw people came and helped us.

[@erinmac4750]

I found out out a couple years ago. Such an amazing story! 🇮🇪🇵🇸

[@AuntieMamies]

@@erinmac4750 it really is. Further breaks my heart to know what we've done to them and continue to do

[@siobhanspencer873]

yes in 1847 they raised money and sent it .The Choctaw of Skullyville donated $170 and the Choctaw of Doaksville donated $150. The Cherokee Nation also donated $200. That would be quite a bit going back . Its nice that people can look on things with reflection and look in a different way ,the irony now is most of the boys that died at the Battle of the Little Big Horn were Irish. History is never black and white , good or bad its a tapestry of so many differing hues.

[@dramonmaster222]

Yeah..the true story of Pocahontas is much darker than I realized.

[@jeffwatkins352]

The depth of this problem is underlined by the fact that at age 71, this is the first I've ever heard of it. And I was born, raised, and lived my entire life in the American West. But then, I'm not a Native American. How criminally we blind ourselves and each other to those we ghettoize as "other."

[@SomasAcademy]

~1:36 Pocahontas belonged to the Powhatan people, a collection of over 30 tribes including the Pamunkey, but we do not know for sure that she belonged to the Pamunkey; the Pamunkey people today claim both her and her father, but other evidence suggests that her father belonged to a different tribe called the Powhatan (his regnal name of Powhatan was taken from his tribe of origin, and the "Powhatan chiefdom" was named after him, just to make everything confusing). We don't know what tribe Pocahontas' mother belonged to, so she might have been Pamunkey, but we shouldn't take that for granted; it's better to say that she was a member of the Powhatan people and leave the specific tribe out of it. ~2:06 Smith was no the one responsible for Pocahontas' captivity, he had returned to England several years before she was kidnapped after being injured in an accidental powder explosion, and didn't see Pocahontas again until she was taken to England.

[@Guishan_Lingyou]

Thanks for the additional information.

[@tessat338]

Where she was struck dumb at the sight of him. She had been told that he was dead. For her, it was like meeting a ghost. The funny thing was, that as a commoner, John Smith didn't have the status to pursue Pocahontas. She was a recognized by the English as a princess. John Rolfe was gentry. He had a higher social standing than did John Smith. It still doesn't mean that Pocahontas had the agency to leave the English settlement or to refuse to marry John Rolfe. Also, if John Smith didn't just make up the whole story about Pocahontas intervening to keep him from being killed at her father's command, which is a distinct possibility, then it was a ritual act by the tribe. Children weren't allowed to just run in and overrule a chief's decision. When the adult John Smith met her in Virginia, she was a kid. He was injured and left for England when she was about 13. She met him again about seven or eight years later in England and was gobsmacked at the sight of him. When she finally could speak again, she addressed him as a "father," so she sort of thought of him as someone of her father's generation, not as a peer or as a love-interest.

[@endergamer7483]

The Powhatan are also matrilineal so it could be that her mother was a Pamunkey and her status as member was passed to her. Also she was a nine year old when she allegedly saved Smith (this was in his third set of journals) and due to her age she wouldn’t have been anywhere near that event. Even if she was the chief’s daughter, there’s no reason for her to be there. Smith was a pudgy and nasty old fart who made up some fucked up lies about a literal child and yet that has stayed in her story.

[@TH-hy9kr]

I'm not a "princess" movie watcher, but always imagined that the Disney movie was a gross whitewashed tale because the school-taught version is the same way. She was girl who was essentially enslaved as a "novelty" and "curiosity" who lost her life too young and far from her family. It was and is sickening and shameful. Sincerely- thank you for this video.

[@kateflanagan9355]

Growing up Pocahontas was my favorite Disney princess. It was devastating to learn a few short years later her true story when I chose her to research for a school report.

[@RadRyan]

I wasn't taught about this in school for SOME reason but at least I know algebra, a thing I've never used.

[@isabellaspangher1734]

We need more stories like this shared.

[@robintauber9994]

The legal loophole is so disheartening and frustrating. Holding the abusers accountable doesn't have a specific judicial department to start the case when a non- indigenous person comes onto reservation land as the US and Canadian governments aren't motivated to even make an effort. It's so messed up!

[@meander112]

Imperialism is a hell of a drug.

[@kaydenevideo]

Thank you for sharing this video and shining light on both the strength and legacy of Native peoples and specifically Native Women of America.

[@deadpoet415]

This was presented very well. It was brief, yet very deep and went straight to the point of the real truth. Thank you. I will never look at Pocahontas the same way again.

[@stoonookw]

Preach to ma people! I had no idea she was raped and murdered… we need to be the center of the American discussion

[@etherealtb6021]

There's no proof she was murdered or not. It is one of many theories. There was no way to prove poisoning back then.

[@cammielinford9919]

Dang! It blows my mind that with the popularity of true crime we haven’t seen anything about MMIW. Maybe that’s for the best when it comes to certain programs but it also seems like an untapped way to spread awareness.

[@cammielinford9919]

Ha like duh, I guess there’s Killers of the Flower Moon but that doesn’t exactly feel informative about the current crisis 😒

[@ciscoralmazora289]

"Adam Ruins Everything" taught me that the popular Pocahontas story was mostly a narrative invented by John Smith to brag of his exploits.(She was, like, only 12 at the time and not likely to have ever interacted with him.)😑

[@johnnyearp52]

Hopefully she wasn't forced to interact with him. 12 means nothing to some adults.

[@ArchOfWinter]

It's baffling there is a segregated legal immunity. A simple fix could curtail the numbers, a crime that happen on any given jurisdiction is prosecutable by that jurisdiction. The current system is like saying New Yorkers can't be prosecuted for any crime outside of NYC, how does that make sense.

[@johnnyearp52]

Yes, it is ridiculous that tribes can't prosecute crimes committed on their own land. It needs to be repealed ASAP.

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

An excellent little piece about this overwhelming yet overwhelmingly underreported ongoing tragedy facing Native American women every single day. I am part NA, but didn't inherit the skin tones that would put me in danger. It makes people disbelieve my heritage, but keeps me safe, so... it's a complicated feeling. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my mutt heart, for this piece. It's SO important this message get heard! ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ Please, take time to tell your loved ones you love them EVERY chance you get. Tomorrow is not a given; you're never promised the next sunrise. ~ ~ ~ ~ "And don't let it break your heart. I know it feels hopeless sometimes. But they're never really gone as long as there's a memory in your mind." _Hold On To Memories_ Dave Draiman, Disturbed 💔💔 MWB Jan 1984 - Aug 2023 RIP ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 💙💙 #ResearchProject2025 #Register #BlueWaveNeeded #StopProject2025 #JobsJobsJobs #BidenomicsWins #ItsTheEconomyStupid #LoonyMAGAMike #MAGACrazy #Project2025 #LookItUp #EndGOPGQP #BidenomicsWins #Bidenomics #UnionStrong #BlueEverySeat #BlueEveryVote #BigBlueWave #BlueTsunami #ForwardNotBack #NoFascism #ForwardNotFascist #EveryElection #EveryVoteEveryYear #DontBooVote 💙💙

[@erinmac4750]

Definitely understand. I am too, but I can look at my family members and see the traits in them. The sad truth is that violence, especially rape is still socially acceptable in our society. And, that 1/3 of all women will have experienced sexual assault in their life. I'm not diminishing the plight of indigenous women, but this attitude has been an overarching one since the beginning, the paternalistic white male who is the boss of everything.... It boggles my mind that we have women in this century buying into that dangerous mess. We need to come together, women of all colors and creeds to stand up for our rights in this country. Anyone who's against our freedom, health, education, and equality, needs to be out of office. If they've done something harmful they should be prosecuted, I'm looking at you Matt Gaetz. We need to unite to protect ourselves, our sisters, our children, our communities, and our future. ❤️✊ BTW love your hashtags, so I'll add a few more.... #WomenLifeFreedom #LandBack #Democracy2024 #1MillionChildren💔🇵🇸 #CeasefireNow🫂🕊️ Ps. You might like the communities of Beau of the Fifth Column, The Humanist Report, Rational National, or Leftist Mafia, which includes the last two.✌️😎🍀

[@ParisLawLess]

When did Pocahontas cartoon came out and I saw it I found it extremely insulting matter of fact I think I've only watched it once in my entire life. The story of Pocahontas is atrocious but also the fact that native indigenous people are always portrayed in a very bad stereotypical light. Native Americans are always betrayed by white actors or non-native actors like Lou Diamond Phillips who portrayed Native Americans in a few films who is actually Filipino and white. It's never shown how Native Americans like my grandfather who served in World War II were extremely important of History American history.

[@rc7625]

John Rolfe was in the Disney Pocahantas sequel, I believe.

[@sandradermark8463]

He is there. And he takes Pocahontas across the pond to England.

[@juliannehannes11]

I remember before Disney's Pocahontas I had to do a second grade school presentation of Pocahontas and knew her age was 10 (it was the only thing I remembered about her) so the next year seeing Disney's Pocahontas I was deeply confused as to why she's a grown woman with a man my parent's age

[@PurpleNoir]

This breaks my heart but also sheds such an IMPORTANT light on Pocahontas’s life and suffering ❤

[@SinaLaJuanaLewis]

I feel like there needs to be a realistic story of Pocahontas 🙏🏽

[@chowh.9443]

"The New World" did a better job at portraying the facts, albeit it's no documentary. It's a 2+ hr movie and I think it's worth watching at least once.

[@Vic-pg4rg]

2.5%? That's really horrible. Especially when you know why exactly it's 2.5%.

[@tanakaren1822]

???? Explain please

[@johnnyearp52]

​@@tanakaren1822 Only 2.5% of the population of the USA is Native American. Due to genocide.

[@pluspiping]

@@tanakaren1822 the intentional genocide of Indigenous populations by North American colonizers.

[@nyves104]

thank you

[@hilarymoonmurphy]

Thank you for raising my awareness of this awful issue.

[@nutriapeluda]

Im here from 2c and I'm grateful for PBS for making this available!

[@sciencenerd7639]

I was ten when the movie Pocahantas came out and i was super mad at disney for being completely innaccurate

[@cheerleaderpromdated]

Matoaka is my 14th Great Grandmother

[@iastorgaphotos]

Can we also address the harm caused by Pretendians who take away benefits owed to true Native Americans? I just watched the CBC documentary on Buffy Sainte-Marie.

[@iraj.bolden2937]

Thank you! They’re apart of the problem as well. Look up the image of Mongolians and see the truth.

[@giamaroze678]

It would be interesting to hear about Sacagawea.

[@jimrebr]

I remember how disturbed I was at the Disney portrayal of Pocahontas. My sons were small children, I thought I was related to the Morongo tribe of Banning, California, but have learned my uncles and aunts were wrong, we are related by marriage only, I am pure Euro mutt, though I look more Native American than many who have actual Native bloodlines, people always think I am Indigenous. My understanding is that John Rolfe “married” Pocahontas and took her to England, where she was given the Aglicised name Rebecca, she became ill, not hatching the immune system to withstand European diseases and died, less then a year after being taken to England. I am very aware of the Missing Indigenous Women Issue, and it sickens me. One of my best friends growing up, was & is full Navaho, my whole family are close to the Yazzies family, my mom and their mom were good friends and pen pals. My friend went back to the Reservation with her older sister, also my friend & as a Registered Nurse, she worked at the clinic near 4 Corners, in Chinless, Arizona, she married the Pharmacist & my husband and I attended her wedding. She went on to get her Doctrate and became the Head of Native Women’s Health for all of the Southwest.

[@indigoace261]

Illuminating. There's so much about our history that we don't know. Thanks for sharing.

[@rhondahuggins9542]

How can an outsider support the fight against this horror towards women? I don't have any biological connections to Indigenous People, but this tragedy should be felt by all people.

[@johnnyearp52]

Yes, those numbers are horrible

[@chandranelson2772]

My wife and I (both white) had never heard about the MMIW or MMIP movement. It is god damn criminal that this is not better known amongst none indigenous people. I knew about the movement in Canada, but not here in the USA.

[@boop79]

A lot of it is caused by drunk native men so relax

[@AsheNOLA]

This is beautifully done. 🥰. I've never watched #Disney 's #Pocahontas. I learned in 1971 when I was 4 years old about Pocahontas. It was the #white version of an #historical account and it led me on a journey. By the time I was 7 I knew the truth about massacres and how this had happened to many #Indigenous peoples. By the time Disney's version came out I had no desire to see misrepresentation. It was not until I was 51 that I learned I am both #colonizer and #colonized in one body. On my father's side, I am #English and #Mohegan. The power of #DNA. #Ancestors want us to know them. And they want the truth of their stories to be seen. Nuwacônumumun yoht wáci napukak~~We keep a fire for the dead; It helps them on their journey~~Anunkush wupômsháwôkuwuk. Thank you 💓💓💓

[@regisnyder]

I would like to add that she and others shouldn’t be addressed as “woman” because men typically assault those that are known to be weak - children.

[@KrisRN23935]

She definitely was to start that.

[@darronperryjr.3171]

Omg... This is heartbreaking to learn about...

[@DrTadStoermer]

This is powerful public history, an authentic story about the past and how it matters in the present.

[@EMNstar]

3:00 damn i love this shot fired at lazy research

[@jazzyperson6797]

So Disney does this thing where it releases sequels to movies that no one asked for. It did that for Pocahontas, and the second movie did the bare minimum to acknowledge some of her tragedy. It includes her leaving her tribe and family with John Rolph to be his wife and becoming more of a circus act. I say all this not to defend Disney, but because I would love to see how this creator and others like him feel about the second movie in the context of this argument.

[@kimberleebrackley2793]

Broken hearted for my sister's. Mine was a non-native too. Survive, l hold you deep in my heart

[@mikebauer6917]

I’m not indigenous, but I grew up in MT and ND and my mom was a county deputy sheriff and juvenile counselor for the BIA. From growing up in this environment I venture a big part of the problem with missing tribal women is a layered cultural indifference (especially in law enforcement and DA offices) with “problems” among what is seen by them as a problematic group. I have no doubt that there is a reluctance to get involved in a tribal matter and a suspicion of tribal people doing or not doing "things". Thus, an excuse for a lackluster investigation. I'm truly sorry this is happening.

[@Lindscaldwell1]

Although I am mostly white and I admit I know very little about the real life experience of this, I know my ancestor was one of these women and it horrifies me that her story is so manipulated still. I'm sorry, grandma Maraboots.

[@maglor159]

things like this is why i supports the rights of all indigenous people

[@marielabayer8644]

Really great presentation. Thank you PBS and all involved in making this video.

[@kidmohair8151]

it never hurts to look at your history with an un-propagandized eye... okay. it might hurt for a while but you will come away from that experience, a better human. always.

[@calarthur96]

such important info to make accessible to folks, thanks for everything yall do :)

[@bonnieisms]

great video! we need more truthtellers like you

[@Pottery4Life]

Thank you.

[@moringaottawa]

0:06 not ready but ready

[@naludragneel5371]

Wow😢 im glad i learned this but also sad about her death

[@wolfesound]

I believe you and support you ❤

[@Amber-dw9op]

Thank you so much for posting this video! I homeschool my children and we’re studying colonial America. It’s been really difficult to find narratives and resources to show my children ALL sides of the story. We’re very fortunate to live a reasonable distance from the Mohegan and Wampanoag nations who have incredible museums, but I’ve had little luck in my search for books and other resources. The activity book we’ve been using uses the legend written by John Smith and calls Pocahontas his ‘appointed protector!’ I’m all for highlighting the good that people have done in history despite their poor choices, but this made my blood curdle. I ordered an activity book by scholastic, a company I’ve always considered a valuable resource, but they breezed over the Native American narrative (only two sentences with a website link). In 2024, it shouldn’t be so hard to find information worth passing along to the next generation.

[@2284alex]

check out “a people’s history of the united states” by howard zinn- i’m pretty sure they make a children’s version. i had a teen version when i was in high school and it really opened my eyes to reality. i had to unlearn a lot of what i had been taught in public school.

[@Lotuschan13]

More of this presenter please

[@shreksvr123]

Thank you for making this video.

[@Storm111_]

I’m not sure if he covered Sacajawea but that would bean interesting deep dive as well. I always wondered who her baby daddy was?

[@jackiemorris3750]

Watching this quite literally made memories come up of being taught about a john rolfe in school. And no, of course, no textbook or teacher in central Virginia told us that my good sis Amonute was kidnapped and basically sex trafficked. Unfortunately, centuries later, VA the location is running like a port place or a stopping place for for a like of SA/ST cases in their travels. Aaand no acknowledgment of native peoples at all. I barely know the actual tribes of these lands im on. We were never taught. ANd I ignorantly neve looked. But I learned today what tribe she was from today. It's bullshit, but I'm happy I'm here. Also bullshit,? her body being stuck in a museum. Long story short, thank you for educating me. #MMIW

[@nativeandindigenuscraftcre433]

Hi thanks I like that your saying the ture thing about pocahontas and I agree on mmiwg2 it good that we talk about it and good luckbon yhe next video

[@thando880]

Narrative is important but the issue is also material.

[@OneBentMonkey]

Buffy Saints-Marie? Ummm…no

[@brandondavidson4085]

It's a bit of a catch-22: a) on one hand, Native Americans having their own territory and judicial sovereignty/legal systems means that the state and federal USA governments are powerless to prosecute American citizens that commit crimes on tribal lands, and b) on the other hand, submitting to the US governments would mean a substantial loss of tribal identify and cultural authority. You can't have your cake and eat it, too.

[@hannahbig5529]

thank you, I'm writing an essay about the difference between the Disney and the real version and am having trouble finding a lot of sources, because even a lot of "history" books still give a rose-colored version of the true story

[@PerspectiveEngineer]

That made me sad. I will remember it. It always make me sad.

[@WildWyatts]

My question is, how , as a non-Native, can I help? I feel as if it is totally one thing to hear about it, but when I’ve tried to reach out to teach women’s self defense, I’m always told that no one will want to take it from me because they don’t want non-native help. So as someone who wants to be an ally, I’m not sure how to even be one.

[@simoneunc]

Great question!! I'm curious about it as well, and the discourse could highlight other issues that are widely hidden from national purview. I'd love to know more.

[@pluspiping]

The usual, safe, starter-answer is "boost the Voices of the people who are actually affected". Disclaimer that I'm not Native, and this is mostly generic advice. If you're not part of the group being victimized but you want to help, here's some things you can do: The first step is learning about the issue from hearing and reading from people who are affected by this issue - Native men and women writing about MMIP, and the justice system as it relates to Indigenous populations - and are trying to do something about it. There are many pre-assembled resource lists / reading lists / bibliographies out there. You can also use an annotated bibliography to recommend resources to other people who are looking to learn more, just like you were. Maybe you've already done this, but this applies to other people reading this comment, too. If your friends and family can learn that this problem exists because someone (you) finally told them, that's a step in the right direction. If they can read anything by Indigenous writers or activists about MMIP because you referred them to it, that's even better. For example, when activists paint bloody handprints on a Saskatoon cathedral, after the discovery of mass graves of First Nations children, to protest the long history of missing and murdered Indigenous children... boost that. Look that one up if you didn't already hear about it, even if you're not Canadian. Here's the website they made specifically for telling settlers "here is what we need you to do": oncanadaproject.ca/settlerstakeaction ....And obviously, don't join in with people pearl-clutching about "vandalism". You're also going to be hearing about more than MMIP - things like Land Back, Water Protectors, ICWA, food costs, energy sources, etc - and you're going to see how it's all connected. It doesn't stop or start with people going missing. Protesters are notably "going missing", for starters. When industrial projects go up near or on reservations, assaults and murders on the Indigenous populations spike. When the Seattle Indian Health Board asked for COVID-19 supplies, the government shipped them body bags instead. The problem is systemic and pervades everything. Find out which parts of your government Indigenous groups are trying to influence, and how and why. What's the current legislation / orders / task force initiatives going around? If they have instructions for how they would like people to contact their state/federal representatives, advocate for or against legislation, or affect local policy, then follow those. Demand better municipal, state, and federal policies as appropriate. In summary: Tune in. Read. Boost. Don't let this be an obscure issue nobody knows about. It's often not an activist's job to make new things, or to be a new resource themselves, but to boost the things already in progress. And when we do want to be personal resources for a cause we want to support, the best way to approach that is asking the victimized group, "What do you need?" Again, sometimes there are whole websites for specific causes, with instructions for what people should do to support the cause. You may be offering to teach self-defense with the best intentions in your heart to protect vulnerable women, but sometimes that is not what people need. Find out what they are asking for, then see if you can do that. That was a lot longer than I intended it to be, but hopefully it was not too much or too little, or too wrong.

[@geeksdo1tbetter]

​@@pluspiping perfect!

[@fredkornis793]

Thank you…🙏🏼

[@n.r.4579]

The Pocahontas movie really is a polarizing film. On the one hand, Native peoples protested it - rightly - because of the gross romanticism, whitewashing, and erasure of a tragedy that befell a young girl, at the hands of a colonialist who was cleaned up into the polite, caring gentleman that he absolutely never was, which is a disgusting revision of history. On the other hand, evangelicals, conservatives, and reactionaries hate it because the film gives a basic rundown of animism - the belief that there is life in everything; that we are all interconnected with nature; that we ought to, therefore, act, individually and collectively, in sync with nature, and for everything we take, give back in equal measure - and paints animism in a good light. These Christian conservatives couldn't stand that, and demonize the film for promoting a "pagan, devil-worshiping agenda". It's a bad film because the Indigenous critics are correct, not because of the conservative critics, who ultimately oppose it because it isn't colonialist enough for them. Anyway, she deserved better, and we need to do right by Indigenous people today, but we can't do that if we keep pushing them to the sidelines, impoverishing them, victimizing them, ignoring them, and treating them as either noble savages or brutal savages, when they're just people, the original peoples of these lands, who need respect, and the land given back.

[@arcie3716]

Listening to the statistics of how much violence native women will and are at risk of experiencing made my jaw drop

[@PokhrajRoy.]

2:58 Well done! I liked this bit.

[@krisendicott2306]

I have read the book about pocahontas 😢it's a very different veiw than Disney .

[@falcolf]

If anyone watching this (excellent!!!) short video wants a deeper history dive on Pocahontus I recommend Knowing Better's great video.

[@sarabarton8113]

Edward Norton is her descendant, it was on an episode of Finding Your Roots. As for the Disney version the animation is beautiful, the songs are epic, but the sanitized story never felt right.

[@NBOTravels]

I’m not confused about the messages however I feel it there’s information missing. Are theses stats for all First Nations Ppl across the US and Canada? I really want this piece to go further in depth as it’s a serious matter

[@johnnyearp52]

There are other videos where you can get more in-depth information.

[@user-zg4pw2nu8i]

This is why I will never take Disney media seriously ever again.Their people are also romanticizing tragic real life events and facts. The only real movie they've ever produced was WALL-E, and that had more than one image of reality yet to be taken seriously by anyone, because of those previous fantasy films. We need scary media!

[@badmonkeyking]

@tyt can we get some more indigenous stories... #tyt , it is a shame how ourstory(history is taught in public schools) the lack of information thank you for helping bring it to the light. How the courts need to change, be updated protect the Tribe still living , breath , grown despite so many that have cause harm.

[@p4rt_t1me_g0d]

You're wrong, she had a racoon friend, was older, and John Smith and she were an item! It's not like revisionist history or anything, they'd never lie to us! Well, at least they have a good portrayal of an African American princess that spends the majority of the film as a frog, while the other princesses get to be themselves and do cool things. Non problematic.

[@atheadax]

I am a direct descendant of Pocahontas. Thank you for telling this story.

[@Hideotronic]

Ready for that live action remake, Disney..