Members of Virginia Indian Tribes React to the Inaccurate Portrayal of Their Heritage in the New Line Cinema Film The New World, Which Opens Nationally on January 20
Monday January 16, 12:00 pm ET
RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The film is a Hollywood rehashing of the Pocahontas myth, this time without Disney animation. That myth has been debunked by modern historians, who say that John Smith's account of Powhatan's daughter throwing herself across his body just as he was about to be killed could not have happened.
"This film isn't history," notes Karenne Wood (Monacan), Chair of the Virginia Council on Indians and a PhD candidate in anthropology at the University of Virginia. "It's harmful, because it portrays our people according to stereotypes about American Indians that we've worked for years to dispel. Our women appear as either princesses or squaws, and our men are either noble or warlike. The New World is old hat, to us. It's the same story, this time with Native actors and consultants. But it's still wrong."
Particularly offensive to Virginia Indian women is the characterization of Pocahontas as the object of Smith's physical desire, even though she was only 11 or 12 when they met, and Smith was closer to 30. The role is played by a 14-year-old actress. "As the mother of a teenage daughter, I was very uncomfortable with the romantic story line between Ms. Kilcher and Mr. Farrell," says Reeva Tilley (Rappahannock), Tribal Councilwoman. "Mr. Malick had the opportunity to make an epic film about the merging of two dynamic cultures and their contributions and survival in the New World, yet the main focus remained the mythical love affair between Pocahontas and Captain John Smith. This film does not portray the true traditional values that I want conveyed to the world about the Virginia Indian people."
Virginia Indian leaders are frustrated, too, by the film's release to promote the 400th anniversary of Jamestown. The Tribes in Virginia have never received the federal status enjoyed by some 567 other Indian tribes. Six of the Virginia Tribes want recognition to represent their culture at the Jamestown Anniversary. Chief Anne Richardson of the Rappahannock Tribe spoke briefly on the recognition issue. "I feel it will be an international embarrassment if Virginia celebrates the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the first permanent English settlement in America, and our government fails to recognize the Virginia Indian tribes that made it possible. The United Kingdom honors us as sovereign nations, but our own country does not. I think it speaks volumes about how our government really feels about us. Someone please inform the Congress that the war is over! How many generations will have to pass away before we can be honored in our own land?"
Source: Virginia Indian Tribal Alliance for Life
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Special thanks to Bea Woodward for this lead.
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January 2006 Reports
Last updated on January 24, 2006