Indians Plan ‘Pocahontas’ Protest
With her fetching dark eyes, tight mini-skirt and traditional Disney pinched figure, the on-screen Pocahontas looks like she has a lot to offer.
Trouble is, local Native Americans say, the image is false and perpetuates stereotypes of Indians and women. They’re planning to protest Disney’s latest animated venture when it comes to Spokane, most likely June 23.
“Pocahontas is perfect,” said Barbie Stensgar, 14, a member of the Colville Tribe, with awe in her voice. “Her hair blows in the wind. She has the perfect breasts and bottom….She’s a Barbie doll, trying to dress as an Indian. I don’t look like that.”
About 40 people met Sunday afternoon in Franklin Park for an organizational meeting to protest “Pocahontas.” The final meeting will be at 6 p.m. June 20 in the southeast corner of the park. It’s open to all.
The activists are joining people nationwide who complain that Disney manipulated history and portrayed Pocahontas as a sexy young woman instead of a child.
“Yes, there was a Pocahontas,” said Martina Whelshula, a protest organizer and member of the Colville Tribe. “Yes, there was a John Smith, and there was a Jamestown. Those are the only facts in the movie.”
In the film, white settler John Smith and Pocahontas look like they’re in their 20s. They meet, they fall in love. Pocahontas saves his life.
“Non-Indians are going to believe this story was based on fact,” Whelshula said. “It twists history. We’re perpetuating lies about what really happened back then. She looks like something that just stepped out of the pages of Frederick’s of Hollywood.”
In reality, Pocahontas was between the ages of 10 and 12 when she met John Smith, in his 30s, and other Jamestown colonists. She may or may not have saved his life. In Smith’s first memoir, he failed to recount the incident. In his second book, he said she saved him from being killed with a stone war club.
Pocahontas married a chief from her tribe when she was about 14. She stayed away from Jamestown for about three years but was lured on board an English ship in 1613 and held captive. She was married to settler John Rolfe, converted to Christianity and baptized Rebecca. She went to London and died of smallpox as she planned to return to America.
“Our point is, there’s nothing romantic about this story,” Whelshula said. “Disney is changing history.”
The movie is Disney’s first animated feature based on a historical figure. Disney has defended the film by saying that it never intended to produce a historical film. Instead, the company says it produced “an odyssey of adventure and romance, combining historical fact and folklore.”
The participants still must decide details of their protest. They discussed protesting only on opening night - Friday, June 23 - or protesting that weekend and possibly the next.
At the meeting, organizers discussed how they should protest. Could banging drums and wearing traditional Indian garb be seen as an endorsement for the movie? They discussed where they should go - to every theater where “Pocahontas” plays, or to only one.
“It’d be ideal to hit all of them,” said Faith Spotted Eagle, a protest organizer and Yankton Dacotah tribal member.
Most likely, the protesters face a battle. The movie “Pocahontas” played to an audience of more than 100,000 on Saturday in Central Park - the largest movie premiere ever.
And some must face their children’s beliefs. During the meeting, Whelshula’s 5-year-old daughter, Cree, hopped from sitting in her father’s lap to playing with her brother to fidgeting in her seat.
“She and I are still at odds about the Pocahontas issue,” Whelshula said. “She likes her. She thinks she’s pretty.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo