As I was going through my favorite “Princesses” from all the Disney movies, I came to Pocahontas (1995). Not the real one… the one that is a cartoon. You know? Disney took some historical facts out of the story, and fluffed it up with a forbidden romance. Little girls everywhere wanted a John Smith when they grew up… Or at least, I did! Humming all the songs that the Powhatan princess sang throughout the movie made me ask myself the question, “What would your life be like if you lived in that time period?”
Yea… Go ahead! Click out of my blog, sarcastically thinking to yourself, “Golly jee! This is exactly what I want to do in my free time; read more essays that I would be given in A.P. U.S. History (Advanced Placement class).” For the people that are still reading… Thank you! I promise to make it painless and fun to read. Hopefully it will spark an interest of the colonization of the Americas, like it did for me! Enough to make me write this before I go to rent the movie. (Which you should do as well, if you haven’t seen it!)
“What would your life be like if you lived in that time period?” Hmmmm… Well! I would say that it depends on which “side” you’re on. Would you be a European settler that is searching for a brand new life? Or would you be a Native American wondering who to trust?
If you are a European settler; congratulations! You have an extremely hard life ahead of you! And you thought it would be easy… Coming over to American may have given you religious freedom, freedom in general, more rights and equalities, a better social status, or more economical opportunities, but let’s not forget about the struggles. Struggles like: not having as much funding as needed, being in unfamiliar land with unfamiliar diseases and environments, being under British (King and Parliament) control with no freedom of government or religion (That one backfired, eh?), fighting amongst yourselves over gold, land, and enemies, and the constantly asked question, “Are these people friendly?”
And if you picked to be a Native American; kudos to you! Because this is the life that I would have chosen. So what if I’m a “tad bit” partial due to my Cherokee ancestry? (I secretly want to be Pocahontas and have friends like Meeko, Flit, and Grandmother Willow.) There is the possibility of the “white people” becoming allies in their tribal battles. Or what about the opportunities of trade? Not that many pros for the Native Americans as you can see… This is because it was mostly a negative thing for the so called “red skins.” They had their land stripped away from them while they were executed and called “animals” and “savages.”
In knowing all of this, Thanksgiving seems a little “Polly Anna.” Of course the relationship between these two groups weren’t always like this, and there are some exceptions with certain tribes in certain areas. The Pilgrims and the Wampanoags were extremely lucky to have such a close bond as to share a meal together that would become a famous American Holiday.
This conflict between the two different peoples was the result of misunderstandings. None of the Native Americans understood what the settlers were going through, as none of the settlers understood the Native Americans’ side of things. Now if you’ll excuse me; I’m going to kick my feet up with a bowl of popcorn and watch my favorite princess advocate for both her father and her lover. My teacher, Mr. B, would be proud! J (603)
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