Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Powhatan woman (c. 1596–1617) who became famous for her association with the English colonists at Jamestown, Virginia.
Her story has been heavily mythologized, particularly the legend that she saved Captain John Smith from execution—an account historians dispute.
She later married colonist John Rolfe and traveled to England, where she died young.
The name sometimes appears dismissively for a Native American woman, or for someone romanticizing indigenous culture: She's playing Pocahontas in her turquoise jewelry.
Virginia Algonquian confederation
- JamestownFirst permanent English settlement
- colonistPerson inhabiting new territory
- John SmithDefault fake name
- VirginiaMid-Atlantic American state
Algonquin · ambassador · kidnapping · conversion · Rebecca · tobacco · settlement · diplomacy
Original inhabitants of America
- representationDepiction or likeness
- stereotypingOversimplified group-based judgments
- erasureAct of wiping away
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
cultural appropriation · reclamation · tribal history · descendant · sovereignty · decolonization · heritage · identity
Full of life, or drawn moving
- raccoonMasked North American omnivore
- hummingbirdSmall nectar-feeding hoverer
- musicalSung theatrical production
- princessMonarch's daughter or heir
sequel · waterfall · canoe · compass · dreamcatcher · cliff diving · willow tree · Alan Menken
Unverified traditional tale
- romanticizedMade more appealing than reality
- rescueSave from harm
- noble savageIdealized primitive innocence
- intercessionActing on another's behalf
mythology · folklore · cultural icon · embellishment · idealization · fabrication · heroine · peacemaker
Powhatan
Virginia Algonquian confederation
- JamestownFirst permanent English settlement
- colonistPerson inhabiting new territory
- John SmithDefault fake name
Virginia · Algonquin · ambassador · kidnapping · conversion · Rebecca · tobacco · settlement · diplomacy · intercultural
Native American
Original inhabitants of America
- representationDepiction or likeness
- stereotypingOversimplified group-based judgments
- erasureAct of wiping away
colonialism · cultural appropriation · reclamation · tribal history · descendant · sovereignty · decolonization · heritage · identity · oral tradition
animated
Full of life, or drawn moving
- raccoonMasked North American omnivore
- hummingbirdSmall nectar-feeding hoverer
- musicalSung theatrical production
princess · sequel · waterfall · canoe · compass · dreamcatcher · cliff diving · willow tree · Alan Menken · John Smith
legend
Unverified traditional tale
- romanticizedMade more appealing than reality
- rescueSave from harm
- noble savageIdealized primitive innocence
intercession · mythology · folklore · cultural icon · embellishment · idealization · fabrication · heroine · peacemaker · exoticism
- 1995 FilmsToy Story, Braveheart, Casino, Apollo 13, Jumanji
- Native AmericansCherokee, Apache, Navajo, Sioux, Mohawk
- 17th Century FiguresOliver Cromwell, Louis XIV, Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, Rembrandt
- Disney performerscharacter actor, Anna, Elsa, Ariel, Belle
- Jamestown ColonistsJohn Smith, indentured servants
- national mythsfounding myth, founding myths, national origin, origin story, origin stories
PocahontasTecumseh
Shawnee military leader
Sitting Bull · Crazy Horse · John Smith · Pontiac · conquistadors