Pocahontas
had a Native Husband and Native Child; Never Married John Smith
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A
portrait of Pocahontas saving the life of John Smith with
Father Wahunsenaca. Oral history from the descendants of Pocahontas
dictate such a thing could never have happened. (AP Images)
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Despite what many people believe due to longstanding and inaccurate
accounts in history books and movies such as Disneys
Pocahontas, the true story of Pocahontas is not one of a young Native
Powhatan woman with a raccoon friend who dove off of mountain-like
cliffs off the coasts of Virginia. (Note: there are no cliffs on
the coast of Virginia.)
The true
story of Pocahontas is a tale of tragedy and heartbreak.
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Disney
Pocahontas - Buena Vista
(courtesy Everett Collection)
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It is time to bust up the misconceptions perpetuated over 400
years regarding the young daughter of Powhatan chief Wahunsenaca.
The truthgathered from years of extensive research of the
historical record, books, and oral histories from self-identified
descendants of Pocahontas and tribal peoples of Virginia
is not for the faint of heart.
A Warning To Our Readers: Mature Subject
Matter Not Suitable for Children
The story of Pocahontas is a tragic tale of a young
Native girl who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and allegedly
murdered by those who were supposed to keep her safe.
Pocahontas Mother, Also
Named Pocahontas, Died While Giving Birth to Her
This is in many historical accounts, though not always.
It is important to note that Pocahontas was born to her mother,
named Pocahontas and her father Wahunsenaca, (sometimes spelled
Wahunsenakah), who later became the paramount chief.
Her name at birth was Matoaka, which means flower between
two streams, and according to Mattaponi history was likely
given to her because she was born between the two rivers of Mattaponi
and Pamunkey (York).
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An
image of a young Pocahontas.
(photo - iStock)
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Due to his wifes death, Wahunsenaca was devastated and
little Matoaka became his favorite because she looked like her mother.
She was raised by her aunts and other women of the Mattaponi tribe
at Werowocomoco.
As was custom at the time, as the Paramount Chief of the Powhatan
Chiefdom, Wahunsenaca had other wives from the other villages and
little Matoaka had many loving brothers and sisters.
Because of his lingering grief and due to the reminder she gave
to him of her mother, Wahunsenaca often called his daughter the
endearing name of Pocahontas.
John Smith Came to the Powhatan When Pocahontas
Was about 9 or 10
According to Mattaponi oral history, little Matoaka
was possibly about 10 years old when John Smith and English colonists
arrived in Tsenacomoca in the spring of 1607. John Smith was about
27 years old. They were never married nor involved.
Pocahontas Never Saved the Life of John
Smith
The children of the Powhatan were very closely watched
and cared for by all members of the tribe. Since Pocahontas was
living with her father, Chief Powhatan Wahunsenaca, at Werowocomoco,
and because she was the daughter of a chief, she was likely held
to even stricter standards and provided with more structure and
cultural training.
When she was a child, John Smith and English colonists stayed
near the Powhatan on the nearby Jamestown Island, but later began
to explore outlying areas. Smith was feared by many Native people
because he was known to enter villages and put guns to heads of
chiefs demanding food and supplies.
In the winter of 1607, the colonists and Smith met with Powhatan
warriors and Smith was captured by the chiefs younger brother.
Because the English and Powhatan feared the actions of the Spanish,
they formed an alliance. Eventually and according to oral history
and contemporary written accounts by the Mattaponi, Wahunsenaca
grew to like Smith, eventually offering him the position of werowance
or leader of the colonists as recognized by the Powhatan as well
as a much more livable area for his people with great access to
game and seafood.
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A
portrait of Pocahontas saving the life of John Smith with
Father Wahunsenaca. Oral history from the descendants of Pocahontas
dictate such a thing could never have happened. (AP Images)
|
Years later, Smith alleged that Pocahontas saved his life in
the four-day process of becoming a werowance. But according to Mattaponi
oral and contemporary written accounts, there would be no reason
to kill a man designated to receive an honor by the chief.
Additionally, children were not allowed to attend any sort of
religious ritual similar to the werowance ceremony.
She could not have thrown herself in front of John Smith to
beg for his life for two reasons: Smith was being honored, and she
would not have been allowed to be there.
Pocahontas Never Defied Her Father to
Bring Food to John Smith or Jamestown
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Captain
John Smith. (photo - Library of Congress)
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Some historical accounts claim Pocahontas defied her father
to bring food to the colonists of Jamestown. According to the history
of the Mattaponi tribe as well as simple facts, these claims could
not be true.
Jamestown was 12 miles from Werowocomoco and the likelihood
that a 10-year-old daughter would travel alone are inconsistent
with Powhatan culture. She as well as other tribal members did travel
to Jamestown, but as a gesture of peace.
Additionally, travel to Jamestown required crossing large bodies
of water and the use of 400-pound dugout canoes. It took a team
of strong people to lift them into the water.
It is likely Pocahontas served as a symbol of peace by simply
being present as a child among her people to show no ill intentions
when her people met with the Jamestown settlers.
Pocahontas Did Not Sneak Into Jamestown
to Warn John Smith About a Death Plot
In 1608 and 1609, John Smiths role as the werowance
(chief) of the colonists had taken an ugly turn. The colonists made
inadequate attempts to plant crops to harvest, and Smith violently
demanded supplies from surrounding villages after once again holding
a gun to the heads of village leaders.
Accounts from Mattaponi histories tell of one tribal woman proclaiming
to Smith, You call yourself a Christian, yet you leave us
with no food for the winter.
Pocahontas father, who had befriended Smith, once said
to him, I have not treated any of my werowances as well as
you, yet you are the worst werowance I have!
Smith claimed Wahunsenaca wanted to kill him, and asserted he
knew of the plot because Pocahontas had come to warn him.
Due to the icy conditions at the time and because of the many
watchful eyes attending to the daughter of a chief, as well as gestures
of peace by the Powhatan to include additional provisions, Native
historians rebuff the historical claims of Smith as completely fabricated.
To further prove Smiths tale was a fabrication, a letter
by Smith written in 1608 was published without Smiths knowledge.
The letter makes no claim of Pocahontas trying to save his life
on two separate occasions. It wasnt until Smith published
his book General Historie of Virginia in 1624 that he claimed Pocahontas
had twice saved his life. Any of the people who could have refuted
Smiths claims by that time were no longer alive.
As Colonists Terrorized Native People,
Pocahontas Married and Became Pregnant
The early 1600s were a horrible time for tribes
near Werowocomoco. Native tribes once comfortable wearing clothing
suitable for summer including exposed breasts for Native
women and little or nothing for children found themselves
being sexually targeted by English colonists.
Young children were targets of rape and Native women in the
tribe would resort to offering themselves to men to keep their children
safe. The Powhatan people were shocked by the behavior and were
horrified that the English government offered them no protections.
In the midst of the horrible and atrocious acts committed by
the colonists, Matoaka was coming of age. During a ceremony, Matoaka
was to choose a new name, and she selected Pocahontas, after her
mother. During a courtship dance, it is likely she danced with Kocoum,
the younger brother of Potowomac Chief Japazaw.
She married the young warrior at about 14 and soon became pregnant.
It was at this time rumors began to surface that colonists planned
to kidnap the beloved chiefs daughter Pocahontas.
Pocahontas Was Kidnapped, Her Husband
Was Murdered and She Was Forced to Give Up Her First Child
When Pocahontas was about 15 or 16, the rumors of a possible
kidnapping had become more of a threat and she was living with her
husband Kocoum at his Potowomac village.
An English colonist by the name of Captain Samuel Argall sought
to find her, thinking that a captured daughter of the chief would
thwart attacks by Natives.
Hearing of her whereabouts, Argall came to the village and demanded
Chief Japazaw, brother of Pocahontas husband, to give up Pocahontas
or suffer violence against his village. Overcome with grief at a
horrible choice, he relented with a hopeful promise that she would
only be gone temporarily. That was a promise Argall quickly broke.
Before Argall left the village, he gave Chief Japazaw a copper
pot. He later claimed to have traded it for her. This trade
is still taught by historians. This is akin to the way that Smith
traded for corn by holding a gun to the heads of chiefs.
Before leaving the village, Pocahontas had to give her baby
(referred to as little Kocoum) to the women of the village. Trapped
onboard an English ship, she was not aware that when her husband
returned to their village, he was killed by the colonists.
The tribal chiefs of the Powhatan never retaliated for the kidnapping
of Pocahontas, fearing they would be captured and that the beloved
daughter of the chief and the Peace Symbol of the Powhatan
might be harmed.
Pocahontas Was Raped While in Captivity
and Became Pregnant With Her Second Child
According to Dr. Linwood Custalow, a historian of the Mattaponi
Tribe and the custodian of the sacred oral history of Pocahontas,
soon after being kidnapped, she was suffering from depression and
was growing more fearful and withdrawn. Her extreme anxiety was
so severe her English captors allowed Pocahontas eldest sister
Mattachanna and her husband Uttamattamakin to come to her aid.
Dr. Custalow writes in his book, The True Story of Pocahontas,
The Other Side of History, that when Mattachanna and her husband
Uttamattamakin, a spiritual advisor to Chief Wahunsenaca, Pocahontas
confided in her sister.
When Mattachanna and Uttamattamakin arrived at Jamestown, Pocahontas
confided in that she had been raped. Mattaponi sacred oral history
is very clear on this: Pocahontas was raped. It is possible that
it had been done to her by more than one person and repeatedly.
My grandfather and other teachers of Mattaponi oral history said
that Pocahontas was raped.
The possibility of being taken captive was a danger to be aware
of in Powhatan Society, but rape was not tolerated. Rape in Powhatan
Society was virtually unheard of because the punishment for such
actions was so severe. Powhatan society did not have prisons. Punishment
for wrongful actions often consisted of banishment from the tribe.
Historians differ on where Pocahontas was held, but tribal historians
believe she was likely held in Jamestown, but was relocated to Henrico
to when she was pregnant.
Pocahontas had a son, Thomas.
John Rolfe Married Pocahontas to Create
a Native Alliance in Tobacco Production
Mattaponi history is clear that Pocahontas had a son out of wedlock,
Thomas, prior to her marriage to John Rolfe. Prior to that marriage,
the colonists pressed Pocahontas to become civilized
and often told her that her father did not love her because he had
not come to rescue her.
Pocahontas often tore off her English clothes, because they
were uncomfortable. Eventually, Pocahontas was converted to Christianity
and took the name Rebecca.
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Pocahontas
as Rebecca Rolfe. (photo - Getty Images)
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In the midst of her captivity, the English colony of Jamestown
was failing. John Rolfe was under a 1616 deadline to become profitable
or lose the support of England. Rolfe sought to learn tobacco curing
techniques from the Powhatan, but curing tobacco was a sacred practice
not to be shared with outsiders. Realizing the political strength
of aligning himself with the tribe, he eventually married Pocahontas.
Though some historians claim Pocahontas and Rolfe married for
love, it is not a certainty, as Pocahontas was never allowed to
see her family, child or father after being kidnapped.
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The
Pocahontas wedding with John Rolfe.
(photo - Library of Congress)
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After the two were married, the Powhatan spiritual leaders and
family to Pocahontas shared the curing practice with Rolfe. Soon
afterwards, Rolfes tobacco was a sensation in England, which
saved the colony of Jamestown, as they finally found a profitable
venture.
The Powhatan tribal lands were now highly sought after for the
tobacco trade and the tribe suffered great losses of life and land
at the hands of greedy tobacco farmers.
It is worth noting that though it was custom for a Powhatan
father to give away his daughter at a marriage, Wahunsenaca did
not attend the wedding of his daughter to Rolfe for fear of being
captured or killed. He did send a strand of pearls as a gift.
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Pocahontas
Portrait by Thomas Sully. c. 1852 - Virginia Historical Society
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As Dr. Custalow wrote in The True Story of Pocahontas, The Other
Side of History:
Although Wahunsenaca did not attend the wedding, we know through
sacred Mattaponi oral history that he gave Pocahontas a pearl necklace
as a wedding gift. The pearls were obtained from the Chesapeake
Bay oyster beds. The necklace was notable for the large size and
fine quality of the pearls. Pearls of the size were rare, making
them a suitable gift for a paramount chiefs daughter. No mention
of this necklace has been found in the English writings, but a portrait
of Pocahontas wearing a pearl necklace used to hang in the Gov.s
mansion in Richmond.
Pocahontas Was Brought to England To Raise
Money and Was Then Likely Murdered
Rumors of the colonists desire to bring Pocahontas made its
way to the Powhatan, who feared for her well-being and considered
an attempt to rescue her. But Wahunsenaca feared his daughter might
be harmed.
Rebecca Pocahontas Rolfe traveled to England with
John Rolfe, her son Thomas Rolfe, Captain John Argall (who had kidnapped
her) and several Native tribal members, including her sister Mattachanna.
Though many settlers were committing atrocities against the
Powhatan, many elites in England did not approve of the mistreatment
of natives. The bringing of Pocahontas to England to show friendship
with Native nations was a key to continued financial support for
the colonists.
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Pocahontas
at Court of King James.
(photo - Library of Congress)
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According to the accounts of Mattachanna, she realized that
she was being used and desperately desired to return home to her
father and little Kocoum. During her travels in England, Pocahontas
did meet John Smith and expressed outrage due to the mistreatment
of his position as leader of the colonists and the betrayal to the
Powhatan people.
After the journey and showing off of Pocahontas to the English
elites, plans were made to return to Virginia in the spring of 1617.
According to a recounting by Mattachanna, she was in good health
while in England and on the ship preparing to go home.
Shortly after a dinner with Rolfe and Argall, she vomited and
died. Those tribal members who were accompanying her, including
her sister Mattachanna, said she was in previous good health and
assessed she must have been poisoned due to her sudden death.
According to Mattaponi oral history, many of the Native people
accompanying Pocahontas were sold as servants or carnival attractions
or sent to Bermuda if they became pregnant after being raped and
sold into slavery.
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Pocahontas
grave, St. Georges Church Kent UK.
(photo - WIKIPEDIA)
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Pocahontas was just under 21 at the time of her death. Instead
of being taken home and laid to rest with her father, Rolfe and
Argall took her to Gravesend, England, where she was buried at Saint
Georges Church, March 21, 1617. Though Virginia tribes have
requested that her remains returned for repatriation, officials
in England say the exact whereabouts of her remains are not known.
Wahunsenaca learned from Mattachanna that his beloved daughter
had died but had never betrayed her people, as some historians claim.
Heartbroken that he had not ever rescued his daughter, he died from
grief less than a year after the death of Pocahontas.
The Descendants of Pocahontas
Oral histories of both the Mattaponi and Patawomeck
and historical references say she mothered two children, Thomas
Rolfe, who was left in England after the death of his mother, and
little Kocoum.
According to Deyo, Little Kocoum was the name that Dr. Linwood
Custalow used for the purpose of his book to reference a small child
whose name was not yet known. In the sacred oral history of the
Mattaponi, the child was raised by the Patawomeck Tribe. The name
of that child was passed down in the Patawomeck oral history was
discovered to be Ka-Okee, a daughter.
This lineage to Ka-Okee includes the world famous entertainer
Wayne Newton, a member of the Virginia state-recognized Powhatan
Patawomeck tribe.
Thomas Rolfe stayed in England and was educated there. He later
returned to the Powhatan as an adult. He was married and had many
descendants.
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Statue
of Pocahontas at the original site of Jamestown, in Colonial
National Historical Park, Virginia Digital photograph . (North
Wind Picture Archives via AP Images)
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Main Sources
A special thank you to the following sources:
- Mattaponi Tribal Historian, Dr. Linwood Little Bear
Custalow, and Angela L. Daniel Silver Star for the
book The True Story of Pocahontas, The Other Side of History
- Pamunkey Chief Robert Gray
- Patawomeck Chief John Lightner
- Powhatan Patawomeck Tribal Historian Bill Deyo
- Countless council members and tribal members of the 11 Tribes
in Virginia, who have been gracious in sharing their stories.
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