Original subtitles

Narrator: POCAHONTAS HAS BEEN A LEGEND FOR SO LONG,

IT'S ALMOST HARD TO BELIEVE SHE WAS AN ACTUAL PERSON.

Woman: POCAHONTAS WAS A REAL GIRL

WHO WALKED AROUND THE SAME WAY WE WALK AROUND TODAY.

Narrator: SHE GREW UP

TO BECOME THE MOST FAMOUS AMERICAN INDIAN WOMAN

IN HISTORY.

Woman: AND THAT PUTS HER IN THE CLASS

OF, YOU KNOW, CLEOPATRA AND JOAN OF ARC.

Narrator: BUT HOW MUCH OF THE STORY WE KNOW IS TRUE?

Woman: DID THEY REALLY UNDERSTAND

WHAT THEY WERE SEEING?

Man: WAS POCAHONTAS A TRAITOR TO HER OWN PEOPLE?

Man: MAYBE SHE WAS A DOUBLE AGENT.

Narrator: AND WHAT KEEPS HER MEMORY ALIVE

OVER FOUR CENTURIES?

Actress: POCAHONTAS ASKS HIM TO GIVE HER THIS MAN'S LIFE.

Woman: ONCE A WHOLE GENERATION IS TOLD A STORY THAT THEY LOVE,

IT TENDS TO LAST,

AND THIS ONE LASTED.

Man: WE CAN TELL YOU EXACTLY WHERE IN THE CHURCH SHE STOOD.

THAT GIVES ME THE GOOSEBUMPS.

Narrator: HERS IS A STORY WE TELL OURSELVES ABOUT AMERICA,

A FOUNDING MOTHER WHO STILL DEFINES US TODAY.

♪

FOR 400 YEARS, POCAHONTAS HAS BEEN A HOUSEHOLD NAME.

WE MAY THINK OF HER STORY AS ANCIENT HISTORY,

BUT HER PEOPLE ARE STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE.

Terry McAuliffe: THIS IS A HISTORIC YEAR FOR US.

THE PAMUNKEY TRIBE HAS RECEIVED

FROM THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS,

THEY HAVE BEEN JUST RECOGNIZED AS A FEDERAL TRIBE,

SO CONGRATULATIONS...

[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]

David Penney: THE INDIANS THAT WE PROJECT ROMANTICALLY

INTO OUR KIND OF PAST,

FOR MANY AMERICANS TO LEARN THAT, WELL, WAIT A MINUTE,

THE DESCENDANTS OF THOSE SAME SO-CALLED MYTHICAL INDIANS

THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FADED AWAY

ARE STILL WITH US TODAY.

Narrator: THE MOST FAMOUS AND MYTHIC

AMERICAN INDIAN STORY OF ALL

IS POCAHONTAS.

Paul Chaat Smith: SHE WAS SEEN AS A REALLY CONSEQUENTIAL PERSON

IN AMERICAN HISTORY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.

Narrator: SHE'S BEEN CELEBRATED AS AN AMERICAN PRINCESS.

Smith: SHE WAS SEEN AS ROYALTY.

SHE WAS FAMOUS ON TWO CONTINENTS WHILE STILL A TEENAGER.

Narrator: SHE'S EVEN A DISNEY PRINCESS.

THE STORY THAT'S BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE CENTURIES

IS A ROMANCE,

A LOVE THAT UNITES TWO CULTURES

AND CREATES LASTING PEACE...

FORGING TWO WORLDS INTO ONE.

BUT EVEN WRITTEN HISTORY

CAN HAVE A CURIOUS HABIT OF GETTING IT ALL WRONG.

Penney: THE KIND OF ROMEO AND JULIET STORY,

THE JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS STORY,

VERY LIKELY NEVER HAPPENED.

Narrator: THE TRUE STORY IS LESS OF A FAIRY TALE.

[YELLING]

KIDNAPPING...

CONFLICT...

[GUNFIRE]

STARVATION...

CANNIBALISM...

AN OCEAN JOURNEY...

AND THE FUTURE OF AN ENTIRE CIVILIZATION

MAKE UP THE REAL STORY OF POCAHONTAS.

THE STORY STARTS YEARS BEFORE THE PILGRIMS

ARRIVE AT PLYMOUTH ROCK

WHEN THREE BRITISH SHIPS MAKE LANDFALL

IN WHAT IS TODAY THE STATE OF VIRGINIA.

THEY ARE THERE TO FOUND THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONY

IN THE NEW WORLD.

James Horn: I'D SAY IT'S A PRETTY WIDESPREAD BELIEF

THAT THE PURITANS--

MORE ACCURATELY THE PILGRIMS--

WHO ARRIVED AT PLYMOUTH IN 1620,

WAS THE FIRST PERMANENT ENGLISH COLONY,

UH, BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY PRECEDED BY JAMESTOWN

13 YEARS EARLIER, IN 1607.

Narrator: 104 SETTLERS, FINANCED BY LONDON INVESTORS

AND WITH THE PERMISSION OF KING JAMES I,

HAVE COME TO SEARCH FOR GOLD

AND A WATER PASSAGE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

THEY ARE EXPLORERS, MERCENARIES AND TRADESPEOPLE

LOOKING TO MAKE THEIR FORTUNES.

OF COURSE, IT'S ONLY THE NEW WORLD TO THEM.

THE INDIAN ALGONQUIN PEOPLE

HAVE LIVED HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

Ashley Atkins: WHEN THE ENGLISH ARRIVED,

THEY WERE STEPPING INTO A REALLY INTRICATE LANDSCAPE

THAT INVOLVED AN EXTREMELY LARGE AND POWERFUL CHIEFDOM.

Narrator: THE CHIEF, WAHUNSENACAWH,

OR CHIEF POWHATAN,

WAS POCAHONTAS' FATHER.

AS HIS DAUGHTER, SHE HAS GONE DOWN IN HISTORY AS A PRINCESS.

Smith: WE KNOW THAT THE PRINCESS ISN'T VERY ACCURATE

BECAUSE SHE HAD TONS OF SISTERS AND BROTHERS,

AND NONE OF THEM WERE CALLED PRINCES OR PRINCESSES.

BUT SHE WAS A DAUGHTER OF A POWERFUL LEADER.

I THINK AMERICA WANTS ROYALTY, RIGHT?

THERE'S AN ENVY OF ROYALTY.

SO IT'S KIND OF COOL THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR ROYAL

WILL BE LIKE AN INDIAN.

Narrator: POPULAR CULTURE IMAGINES HER AS A GROWN WOMAN.

BUT IN 1607, POCAHONTAS WAS A GIRL OF 9 OR 10.

Camilla Townsend: POCAHONTAS WAS A REAL GIRL

WHO WALKED AROUND THE SAME WAY WE WALK AROUND.

WHAT MADE HER LAUGH MAY HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT

FROM WHAT MAKES US LAUGH,

BUT THAT SPARK OF JOY WHEN SHE WAS GIGGLING

WAS THE SAME AS THE SPARK OF JOY IN ANY YOUNG GIRL TODAY.

Narrator: HER REAL NAME WAS MATOAKA.

POCAHONTAS WAS JUST A NICKNAME.

DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ASK,

IT EITHER MEANT "SPOILED CHILD" OR "PLAYFUL ONE."

EITHER WAY, IT SUGGESTS A CAREFREE CHILDHOOD

FOR THE CHIEF'S DAUGHTER.

BUT THE ARRIVAL OF THE COLONISTS

WOULD PUT THAT REALITY TO THE TEST.

Horn: I THINK THE ENGLISH GET MIXED MESSAGES.

THERE WERE SOME INDIAN PEOPLES ALONG THE JAMES RIVER

WHO WELCOMED THEM.

UM, TRADE.

AND THERE ARE INDIAN PEOPLES THAT ARE MORE HOSTILE.

Narrator: JUST A MONTH AFTER MAKING LANDFALL,

THE SETTLERS ARE ATTACKED BY 200 INDIANS.

TWO COLONISTS ARE KILLED,

AND 11 ARE WOUNDED.

[BIRD CALLS]

[GUNFIRE AND YELLING]

THE ATTACK WAS JUST THE FIRST SIGN

THAT LIFE IN JAMESTOWN MIGHT NOT LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS.

IT WAS SWAMPY, MOSQUITO-INFESTED,

AND THE WATER WAS IMPURE.

BEFORE LONG, THE COLONISTS WERE BATTLING DISEASE AND HUNGER.

Horn: FINDING FOOD AND FINDING PROVISIONS

TO KEEP THAT COLONY ALIVE

WAS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST JOBS.

UM, NOT JUST FOR JAMESTOWN, ACTUALLY.

MOST EUROPEAN COLONIES FAILED WITHIN 12 MONTHS.

Narrator: THEY SOON REALIZE THEY ARE WOEFULLY UNPREPARED.

Townsend: THE ENGLISH HAVE BEEN LAUGHED AT,

IN A SENSE, BY HISTORIANS

FOR ARRIVING WITHOUT ANY CLEAR SENSE

OF HOW THEY WERE GOING TO SUPPORT THEMSELVES.

Narrator: DESPITE ABUNDANT FISHING AND HUNTING,

THE ENGLISH SIMPLY LACK THE REQUISITE KNOW-HOW

TO MAKE THEIR FOOD SUPPLY MEET DEMAND.

Atkins: HERE THEY'RE SURROUNDED BY FOOD.

LIKE, I GO TO JAMESTOWN ISLAND,

AND I'M LIKE YOU COULD HAVE EATEN THAT,

YOU COULD HAVE EATEN THAT.

I MEAN, MAYBE IT WASN'T THERE, YOU KNOW, 400 YEARS AGO,

BUT I'M PRETTY SURE IT WAS. [LAUGHS]

Narrator: AS WINTER SETS IN, THE PROBLEM INTENSIFIES.

TO THE POWHATAN, THEY HARDLY SEEM LIKE A THREAT.

Smith: FOR A LONG TIME, INDIANS IN VIRGINIA

ACTUALLY THOUGHT THE ENGLISH CAME TO LOOK FOR FOOD,

BECAUSE THEIR EXPERIENCE OF SEEING THE ENGLISH

WAS THEY WERE DESPERATELY HUNGRY ALL THE TIME,

THEY WERE CLUELESS ABOUT FISHING,

THEY WERE CLUELESS ABOUT FARMING.

SO MAYBE THEY CAME HERE

BECAUSE WHERE THEY'RE FROM, IT'S EVEN WORSE.

Narrator: JAMESTOWN WAS LED BY A SHORT, BRASH SOLDIER-FOR-HIRE

NAMED JOHN SMITH.

SMITH ACTUALLY ARRIVED IN THE NEW WORLD A PRISONER

AFTER A CONFLICT AT SEA LANDED HIM IN THE BRIG.

BUT THE COLONY QUICKLY REALIZES THEY NEED HIM TO SURVIVE.

IT IS HIS SEARCH FOR FOOD

THAT BRINGS THE ENGLISH INTO CONTACT WITH POCAHONTAS.

Townsend: IT WAS JOHN SMITH, IN FACT, WHO MET HER.

HE HAD GONE UP THE CHICKAHOMINY RIVER,

HOPING TO BE ABLE TO TRADE FOR SOME CORN

BECAUSE THE COLONISTS WERE SO HUNGRY.

Narrator: WITH JAMESTOWN ON THE VERGE OF STARVATION,

A DESPERATE SMITH TRAVELS THROUGH UNEXPLORED TERRITORY

AND IS SET UPON BY A GROUP OF POWHATAN WARRIORS.

Horn: JOHN SMITH WAS SOMEONE

WHO NEVER LACKED FOR, UM, SELF-CONFIDENCE.

UM, HE BELIEVED HE KNEW BEST, UH, ALMOST IN ANY SITUATION.

HE'S TRYING TO HOLD THEM OFF WITH HIS PISTOL.

Narrator: DESPITE THE WEAPON, HE'S FAR OUTNUMBERED.

[GUNSHOT]

[YELLING]

THEY CAPTURE SMITH, AND OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS,

MARCH HIM FROM VILLAGE TO VILLAGE,

DISPLAYING HIM LIKE A CURIOSITY.

[CHEERING AND YELLING]

Townsend: HE WAS PARADED AROUND AT VARIOUS VILLAGES

BEFORE BEING TAKEN TO WEROWOCOMOCO,

WHICH MEANS KING'S HOUSE OR CHIEF'S HOUSE.

THAT'S WHERE POWHATAN, POCAHONTAS' FATHER, LIVED

AND WHERE SHE LIVED, TOO.

♪

Narrator: AT POWHATAN'S WEROWOCOMOCO LONGHOUSE,

HE IS BROUGHT BEFORE THE GREAT CHIEF.

IT'S A HISTORIC MEETING OF CULTURES.

Horn: HE IS THE FIRST SETTLER

TO REALLY, UM, INVOLVE HIMSELF WITH, WITH THE CHIEFS.

NO ONE HAD DONE IT BEFORE HIM, NO.

Narrator: AS A EUROPEAN,

HE LIKELY WOULD HAVE UNDERESTIMATED POWHATAN.

Townsend: WE HAVE EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE

THAT A MAN LIKE, LIKE POWHATAN

WAS EXTREMELY INTELLIGENT,

EXTREMELY SHARP,

WOULD HAVE HAD A HIGHER IQ THAN YOUR AVERAGE PERSON ANYWHERE,

INCLUDING YOUR AVERAGE PERSON IN ENGLAND.

♪

Narrator: WHAT SMITH SAYS HAPPENED NEXT

IS THE GENESIS OF THE POCAHONTAS LEGEND.

John Smith: TWO GREAT STONES WERE BROUGHT BEFORE POWHATAN.

THEN AS MANY AS COULD LAID HANDS ON HIM,

DRAGGED HIM TO THEM,

AND THERE ON LAID HIS HEAD,

AND BEING READY WITH THEIR CLUBS

TO BEAT OUT HIS BRAINS.

Narrator: IT WAS TO BE AN EXECUTION.

BUT JUST WHEN DEATH SEEMED LIKE A CERTAINTY,

HE WAS SAVED.

John Smith: POCAHONTAS, THE KING'S DEAREST DAUGHTER,

WHEN NO ENTREATY COULD PREVAIL,

GOT HIS HEAD IN HER ARMS,

AND LAID HER OWN UPON HIS TO SAVE HIM FROM DEATH.

Narrator: SHE SAVES SMITH,

AND WITH HIM, THE COLONY ITSELF.

THE LEGEND LASTS THROUGH THE AGES.

BUT IS IT EVEN TRUE?

[DRUMMING]

FOR THROWING HERSELF

BETWEEN THE LEADER OF THE JAMESTOWN COLONY

AND A WARRIOR'S CLUB,

POCAHONTAS BECOMES A BRIDGE BETWEEN CULTURES

AND A SAVIOR OF THE FUTURE NATION.

OR AT LEAST THAT'S HOW THE STORY PLAYS IN THE MOVIES.

AND THAT'S HOW IT'S ENSHRINED IN THE VERY HEART OF DEMOCRACY,

THE U.S. CAPITOL BUILDING.

Cécile Ganteaume: THE ROTUNDA OF THE U.S. CAPITOL

WAS BUILT TO EVOKE THE ROMAN PANTHEON,

AND IT'S A VERY MAJESTIC PLACE.

AND IN THE TOP OF THE DOME

IS THE PAINTING, THE APOTHEOSIS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.

AND THEN THREE IMAGES OF POCAHONTAS

ARE UNDER THAT PAINTING OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.

SO SHE'S IN A VERY, VERY SIGNIFICANT PLACE.

Narrator: MOST FAMOUSLY,

SHE APPEARS IN THE FRIEZE THAT ENCIRCLES THE DOME.

Ganteaume: THE COLONY IS THE FIRST PLACE IN THE NEW WORLD

THAT REPRESENTATIVE FORM OF GOVERNMENT TAKES ROOT.

AND SO THAT MORPHS INTO POCAHONTAS SAVING

THE BIRTHPLACE OF DEMOCRACY.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO LEGEND,

WITHOUT POCAHONTAS, THE CAPITOL ITSELF MIGHT NOT EXIST.

THE STORY IS PART OF THE COUNTRY'S DNA.

BUT DID IT REALLY HAPPEN?

Townsend: JOHN SMITH SENT A REPORT HOME TO ENGLAND

AS SOON AS HE WAS RELEASED, A COUPLE MONTHS LATER,

AND HE NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THAT AT ALL.

IN FACT, HE SAID THAT THEY TREATED HIM

WITH WHAT KINDNESS THEY COULD, WAS A QUOTE,

AND CLEARLY WANTED TO NEGOTIATE WITH HIM,

FORM SOME SORT OF TRADE RELATIONSHIP.

Narrator: IT'S POSSIBLE

THAT SMITH MISINTERPRETED AN ADOPTION CEREMONY

AS AN EXECUTION.

Horn: ANOTHER THEORY IS THAT HE WAS BEING TESTED BY,

BY INDIAN PRIESTS AS TO WHETHER HE WAS WORTHY OF BEING SAVED.

AND THIS CULMINATES WHEN HE REACHES WEROWOCOMOCO

BECAUSE POWHATAN OFFERS TO ADOPT HIM AS A POWHATAN,

THE ELITE GROUP OF THIS CHIEFDOM.

Penney: HIS CAPTURE AND THEN HIS RELEASE

WAS AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE HIM A KIND OF CAPTAIN

OR A MEMBER OF THE CONFEDERACY

TO TRY TO BRING JAMESTOWN UNDER THE RULE OF POWHATAN.

Atkins: AFTER JOHN SMITH IS SAVED,

POWHATAN REFERS TO HIM AS "SON."

AND SOME HAVE ARGUED THAT THAT WAS HIS WAY

OF INITIATING SMITH

INTO THIS KIND OF POWHATAN SYSTEM OF HIERARCHY

WHERE JOHN SMITH IS NOW HIS SON,

POWHATAN IS HIS FATHER.

YOU ARE SUBSERVIENT TO YOUR FATHER, RIGHT?

Narrator: ADOPTING SMITH WOULD MAKE PERFECT SENSE

FOR A SHREWD LEADER LIKE POWHATAN.

Horn: JOHN SMITH IS GOING TO BE A VALUABLE ALLY OF THE POWHATANS

WITHIN JAMES FORT.

THEY WANT TO TURN, IF YOU LIKE,

ONE OF THE LEADERS TO THEIR CAUSE.

Narrator: CEREMONY OR EXECUTION,

HISTORIANS DON'T BELIEVE

POCAHONTAS WOULD HAVE BEEN PRESENT.

Penney: EXPERTS INSIST

THAT SHE WAS FAR TOO YOUNG AS A YOUNG WOMAN

TO PARTICIPATE IN CEREMONIES LIKE THAT.

UM, SO VERY LIKELY, FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE,

SHE DIDN'T PARTICIPATE.

Narrator: IF IT HAPPENED AT ALL,

SMITH KEPT THE LIFE-SAVING STORY UNDER WRAPS FOR DECADES.

ALTHOUGH HE PUBLISHED ABOUT HIS VIRGINIA ADVENTURES

IN 1608 AND 1612,

IT DOESN'T APPEAR IN PRINT UNTIL HIS 1624 BOOK,

"GENERALL HISTORIE OF VIRGINIA."

Townsend: ONLY YEARS LATER,

WHEN ALL THE PRINCIPALS WERE DEAD,

DID HE COME UP WITH THAT STORY.

NOBODY WAS LEFT TO CONTRADICT IT.

Narrator: HE ALSO SPINS THE ROMANTIC TALE.

Smith: WOULDN'T IT BE COOL IF THE DAUGHTER OF THE INDIAN GUY

FELL IN LOVE WITH THE LEADER OF THE ENGLISH COLONY

AND THEY HAD THIS HOT ROMANCE AND LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER?

Narrator: FROM A LITERARY POINT OF VIEW,

IT MAKES A MUCH BETTER STORY.

OF COURSE, SHE WAS AROUND 11 YEARS OLD.

HE WAS 27.

Penney: THEY CERTAINLY KNEW OF EACH OTHER,

BUT THE ROMANCE BETWEEN THEM

VERY LIKELY WAS TOTAL FICTION ON JOHN SMITH'S PART.

Narrator: IN FACT,

SMITH HAS A HISTORY OF FICTIONALIZING HIS ADVENTURES.

Ganteaume: TODAY, CAPTAIN SMITH IS CONSIDERED A FABULIST,

THAT HE EXAGGERATED A LOT OF HIS TALES.

Narrator: HE'D TOLD THE IDENTICAL STORY

MORE THAN ONCE BEFORE.

Ganteaume: TALES ABOUT PRINCESSES,

YOUNG WOMEN IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

ALSO COMING IN AND SAVING HIS LIFE

JUST WHEN HE WAS ABOUT TO BE DISPATCHED.

Narrator: BUT TRUTH OR INVENTION,

THE STORY OF POCAHONTAS SAVING HIS LIFE

TAKES ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN.

A CENTURY AND A HALF LATER,

WHEN AMERICA ACHIEVES INDEPENDENCE FROM BRITAIN,

IT'S BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT.

Penney: THE UNITED STATES WANTED TO DEFINE THEMSELVES

IN CONTRAST TO THEIR EUROPEAN ORIGINS.

HOW ARE WE AMERICAN AND HOW ARE WE DIFFERENT

FROM OUR EUROPEAN FOUNDATIONS?

AMERICAN INDIANS PROVIDED, YOU KNOW,

A KIND OF A ROUTE, A PATHWAY.

Narrator: FROM THEN ON,

IT IS TAUGHT TO GENERATION AFTER GENERATION

OF AMERICAN SCHOOLCHILDREN.

Townsend: NOAH WEBSTER WROTE NOT ONLY A DICTIONARY

BUT ALSO A TEXTBOOK.

AND THAT TEXTBOOK WAS USED IN MOST OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS,

AND SO THEY ALL GOT TO KNOW THE STORY OF THIS POCAHONTAS

WHO HAD LOVED WHITE MEN SO MUCH, ESPECIALLY JOHN SMITH,

AND HAD THROWN HERSELF OVER HIS BODY TO SAVE HIM.

AND ONCE A WHOLE GENERATION IS TOLD A STORY THAT THEY LOVE,

IT TENDS TO LAST.

AND THIS ONE LASTED ALL THROUGH THE YEARS.

Narrator: SO IS THE STORY OF POCAHONTAS ALL A MYTH?

NOT EXACTLY.

SHE PROBABLY DIDN'T SAVE SMITH'S LIFE,

BUT SHE DID HELP SAVE THE COLONY ITSELF.

SHE FREQUENTLY DELIVERS MUCH-NEEDED FOOD TO THE FORT.

AND SHE QUICKLY BECOMES BILINGUAL.

Townsend: THERE IS REAL EVIDENCE

THAT SHE WAS FUNCTIONING AS A TRANSLATOR,

AS A USEFUL AND SUCCESSFUL TRANSLATOR WITHIN MONTHS.

Horn: LANGUAGE IS CRITICAL.

EARLY ON THERE, THERE WAS A GOOD DEAL OF MISUNDERSTANDING.

UH, SIGN LANGUAGE HAS GOT LIMITS, OBVIOUSLY.

Townsend: JOHN SMITH RECORDED A SORT OF SET OF LANGUAGE LESSONS

THAT HE HAD HAD WITH HER--

SIMPLE PHRASES AND THEN SIMPLE SENTENCES

IN THE ALGONQUIAN LANGUAGE THAT THE POWHATANS SPOKE.

AND IN THESE SENTENCES, HE MENTIONS POCAHONTAS.

SO HE WILL SAY, POCAHONTAS SAYS BRING ME TWO BASKETS.

AND THEN HE WILL WRITE THOSE SAME WORDS

IN THE ALGONQUIAN LANGUAGE THAT SHE WAS TEACHING HIM.

[POCAHONTAS SPEAKS ALGONQUIAN WORD]

[SMITH REPEATS ALGONQUIAN WORD]

[POCAHONTAS REPEATS ALGONQUIAN WORD]

Narrator: THE WRITTEN RECORD OF THEIR LANGUAGE LESSONS

ARE THE ONLY SENTENCES OF THE NOW EXTINCT ALGONQUIAN LANGUAGE

THAT SURVIVE.

IT WAS ALSO A MATTER OF SURVIVAL FOR JOHN SMITH.

Horn: SMITH IS LEVERAGING THIS POSITION

WHEREBY HE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN TALK TO THE GREAT CHIEF

AND THEREFORE LEVERAGE HIS POSITION AMONGST THE ENGLISH.

SO THE RISE AND FALL OF JOHN SMITH

IS INTIMATELY CONNECTED WITH LANGUAGE

AND HIS ABILITY TO SPEAK ALGONQUIAN

AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH, WITH POWHATAN

AND WITH POCAHONTAS.

Narrator: FOR HER PART,

POCAHONTAS BECOMES A CRUCIAL FIGURE IN JAMESTOWN--

A CHILD AMBASSADOR FROM THE TRIBE

WHOSE GOODWILL IS KEEPING THE COLONISTS ALIVE.

Townsend: ALL THE ENGLISH AT THE FORT,

AT THE JAMESTOWN FORT,

KNEW HER, KNEW ABOUT HER.

SHE WAS A FAMOUS INDIAN TO THEM.

NOT QUITE SO FAMOUS AS HER FATHER, FATHER, POWHATAN,

BUT WELL KNOWN TO THEM NONETHELESS.

Narrator: FOR ONE THING,

NUMEROUS ACCOUNTS FROM JAMESTOWN COLONISTS

TELL US SHE WAS FAMOUS FOR HER CARTWHEELS.

BUT THE DAYS OF PLAYING IN THE SUNSHINE WON'T LAST.

FROM THE ORIGINAL 104 SETTLERS,

ONLY 38 REMAIN BY THE END OF 1607.

A RESUPPLY SHIP BRINGS NEW BLOOD AND FOOD,

BUT MUCH IS LOST IN A FIRE IN EARLY 1608.

A YEAR AFTER ARRIVING IN JAMESTOWN,

THE ENGLISH STILL DON'T SEEM LIKE A THREAT TO THE POWHATAN.

BUT THEY ARE ONE.

♪

Narrator: JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS

HAVE BECOME POP CULTURE ICONS.

Al Jolson: ♪ NOW HERE'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW ♪

♪ WHO PLAYED POKER WITH POCAHONTAS ♪

♪ WHEN JOHN SMITH WENT AWAY?

♪

Narrator: BUT WHAT REALLY SEPARATES THEM

IS NOT VERY FUNNY.

IN 1608, SMITH BECOMES PRESIDENT OF THE COLONY.

HE RUNS A TIGHT SHIP.

John Smith: HE THAT WILL NOT WORK SHALL NOT EAT.

Narrator: HE HAS NEGOTIATED A TENUOUS PEACE

AND THE ALL-IMPORTANT SUPPLY OF FOOD WITH THE POWHATAN.

BUT HE CAN'T GIVE THE INDIANS THE ONE THING THEY REALLY WANT.

Horn: WHAT THEY WANT FROM THE ENGLISH

IS ENGLISH WEAPONRY.

COPPER AS WELL, BUT PRIMARILY WEAPONRY,

AND NOT JUST STEEL-EDGED WEAPONS.

UM, NOT JUST SWORDS AND POLEAXES AND SO ON.

THEY WANT FIREARMS.

[GUNSHOT]

THEY WANT CANNON, AND THEY WANT MUSKETS AND PISTOLS.

Narrator: NATURALLY,

THE VIRGINIA COMPANY'S CHARTER FORBIDS THIS.

Horn: BECAUSE HE CAN'T DELIVER,

THOSE PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

THAT SMITH HAD BUILT HIS FORTUNES AROUND BROKE DOWN.

THAT WAS THE END OF HIS PREEMINENCE, REALLY,

IN THE COLONY.

Narrator: NEVER WELL-LIKED, HIS HARD-LINE LEADERSHIP

RESULTS IN MORE THAN ONE ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE.

HE SURVIVES BUT IS INJURED.

Townsend: HE WAS LOSING POPULARITY AMONG THE MEN.

IT WAS TIME TO GO HOME FOR POLITICAL REASONS.

Narrator: NURSING HIS WOUNDS, HE SETS SAIL TO ENGLAND.

POCAHONTAS IS TOLD HE HAS DIED,

AND HER VISITS TO JAMESTOWN COME TO AN END.

FOLLOWING SMITH'S DEPARTURE,

CONDITIONS IN JAMES FORT AGAIN GROW DESPERATE.

Townsend: THE WHITE PEOPLE HAD WORN OUT THEIR WELCOME.

THE INDIANS WERE NO LONGER BRINGING CORN

AND OTHER FOODSTUFFS, EITHER AS GIFTS OR EVEN TO SELL.

UM, AND IN FACT THE INDIANS SOMETIMES WERE ATTACKING THEM

WHEN THEY LEFT THE FORT.

SO THE ENGLISH COULDN'T EVEN PLANT CROPS

AND TRY TO LIVE ON THAT.

Narrator: IN 1609,

THEIR SALVATION SETS SAIL FROM ENGLAND--

A GREAT FLEET CARRYING 500 MORE SETTLERS

AND SUPPLIES FOR ALL.

BUT NOTHING GOES ACCORDING TO PLAN.

Horn: THIS FLEET WAS CAUGHT IN A HURRICANE IN THE ATLANTIC.

MANY OF THE SHIPS WERE DAMAGED, AND STORES WERE DAMAGED.

SO 500 PEOPLE ARRIVE AT JAMESTOWN

WITHOUT SUFFICIENT PROVISIONS.

AT THE SAME TIME, THERE'D BEEN PLAGUE

IN ONE OF THOSE SHIPS THAT ARRIVED,

SO YOU HAVE LACK OF PROVISIONS,

DISEASE THAT SWEPT THROUGH JAMESTOWN,

AND THEN INDIAN PEOPLES CHOOSE THAT MOMENT

TO...TO ATTACK THE ENGLISH TO GET RID OF THEM.

SO YOU HAVE A TRIFECTA, REALLY, OF DISASTERS.

Narrator: AS COLD TURNS TO FREEZING,

HUNGER TURNS TO STARVATION.

THEY EAT RATS.

THEY BOIL AND EAT THEIR BELTS AND SHOES,

AND WHEN THOSE ARE GONE,

THEY ARE FORCED INTO A DARKER CORNER.

♪

THE 2012 DISCOVERY OF A COLONIST'S SKULL--

A TEENAGE GIRL--

LED JAMESTOWN ARCHEOLOGISTS TO A GRISLY REALITY.

SHE HAD BEEN EATEN.

Doug Owsley: I'VE SEEN CANNIBALISM

IN MANY DIFFERENT SITUATIONS, ACTUALLY,

IN NORTH AMERICA, PREHISTORIC NORTH AMERICA, FOR INSTANCE,

AND THERE'S JUST NO DOUBT THAT THAT OCCURRED.

Narrator: THIS WASN'T MURDER.

THE GIRL, RECONSTRUCTED HERE, WAS ALREADY DEAD

WHEN SOME UNKNOWN STARVING SETTLERS CONSUMED HER.

Owsley: THERE ARE CHOPS HERE, FOUR TO THE FOREHEAD,

THAT ARE VERY TENTATIVE

IN THE SENSE THAT THEY DO CUT INTO THE BONE,

BUT THEY DON'T GO VERY DEEP.

IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE PERSON WAS ALIVE,

BECAUSE YOU WOULD NEVER GET SUCH CLOSELY SPACED CHOPS.

Narrator: IT'S THE FIRST KNOWN EVIDENCE OF SURVIVAL CANNIBALISM

IN NORTH AMERICA.

Owsley: IT COMPLETELY SPEAKS TO JUST HOW HORRIBLE THE TIME WAS

AND THE FACT THAT THEY JUST HAD NOTHING TO EAT.

[SOBBING]

Narrator: BY THE END OF WINTER,

MORE THAN 150 ENGLISH-- NEARLY 75% OF THE COLONY--

ARE GONE.

60-SOME DESPERATE COLONISTS ABANDON THE FORT,

ONLY TO BE TURNED AROUND BY ANOTHER SHIP FROM ENGLAND

AND A NEW GOVERNOR,

LORD DE LA WARR.

HIS SUPPLIES RESURRECT THE COLONY,

BUT OPEN WARFARE WITH THE INDIANS

NOW THREATENS ITS SURVIVAL.

Man: AND FIRE!

[GUNFIRE]

IN 1613, POCAHONTAS, NOW A GROWN WOMAN OF 16,

ONCE AGAIN BECOMES THE COLONY'S UNLIKELY SAVIOR.

♪

SHE'S VISITING THE NEARBY PATOWOMECK TRIBE

WHEN HER INDIAN HOSTS,

THREATENED WITH WAR BY AN ENGLISH SHIP CAPTAIN,

LURE HER ONTO HIS VESSEL AND BETRAY HER.

Penney: THE KIDNAPPING OF POCAHONTAS

IS PLOTTED AND ACHIEVED

AS A PART OF CREATING THIS KIND OF LEVERAGE

OVER THE POWHATAN CONFEDERACY

IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF STABILITY AND PEACE

AND ALSO TO MAINTAIN THE TRADE, WHICH FOR JAMESTOWN MEANS FOOD.

Narrator: POCAHONTAS IS THE CURRENCY

THAT PAYS FOR THE COLONY'S SURVIVAL.

SHE IS HELD PRISONER ABOARD SHIP FOR DAYS,

THEN MARCHED FROM THE PORT THROUGH THE GATES OF JAMES FORT.

THE PLACE SHE PLAYED AS A CHILD

IS NOW A VILLAGE OF UNFAMILIAR FACES.

♪

THE ENGLISH DEMAND A RANSOM OF HOSTAGES AND STOLEN WEAPONS,

WHICH GOES ONLY PARTIALLY PAID.

NEGOTIATIONS WILL DRAG ON FOR MORE THAN A YEAR.

INSIDE THE FORT WALLS, IN THIS ENGLISH WORLD,

POCAHONTAS, THE POWHATAN WOMAN, IS REMADE,

AT LEAST ON THE SURFACE.

Ganteaume: WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON IN HER HEAD.

SHE WAS INVOLVED IN ALL THESE INCREDIBLE EVENTS

DURING A VERY MOMENTOUS TIME IN HISTORY,

BUT WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT SHE WAS THINKING.

Narrator: WE DO KNOW WHAT SHE MEANT TO THE COLONY.

Horn: POCAHONTAS,

HER STATUS AS THE DAUGHTER OF THE GREAT CHIEF

IS, IS HUGELY IMPORTANT TO THE ENGLISH.

Narrator: SHE'S IMPORTANT AS A PIECE OF COLLATERAL,

BUT SHE'S ALSO SEEN AS A SOUL RIPE FOR CONVERSION.

Horn: THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND WAS ONLY 50 YEARS OLD

AT THE TIME OF THE FOUNDING OF VIRGINIA.

IT WAS WELL KNOWN THAT THE SPANISH

HAD CONVERTED MILLIONS OF INDIAN PEOPLES TO CATHOLICISM

IN SOUTH AMERICA AND MIDDLE AMERICA.

NORTH AMERICA WAS TO BE ENGLISH, AND IT WAS TO BE ANGLICAN.

IT WAS TO BE PROTESTANT.

BUILDING THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

BY BRINGING IN THE ENTIRE POWHATAN NATION

WAS THE FIRST STEP

TO CONVERTING ALL INDIAN PEOPLES IN NORTH AMERICA

TO THE ANGLICAN CHURCH.

Narrator: BAPTIZING POCAHONTAS WAS THE FIRST STEP

IN CONVERTING THE POWHATAN NATION.

Horn: THAT'S WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT

THAT SHE WAS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE GREAT CHIEF.

Narrator: OVER THE MONTHS IN CAPTIVITY,

SHE'S INSTRUCTED IN THE ANGLICAN FAITH,

AND SHE BECOMES THE FIRST INDIGENOUS PERSON

TO CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY IN THE ENGLISH NEW WORLD.

SHE IS BAPTIZED "REBECCA."

A SOUL SAVED THAT HELPED THE ENGLISH JUSTIFY

THE MORAL CORRECTNESS OF COLONIZATION.

Pocahontas: ...UPON THE EARTH.

Chief Robert Gray: EUROPEANS AND CHRISTIANS

LOVED THE IDEA OF COMING OVER HERE

TO SAVE THE POOR HEATHEN INDIANS FROM THEMSELVES,

SPREAD CHRISTIANITY,

AND STEAL OUR LAND AT THE SAME TIME.

Narrator: WAS POCAHONTAS HELPING THEM DO IT?

WAS SHE TRULY DEVOUT?

OR WAS SHE BRAINWASHED BY HER KIDNAPPERS?

Townsend: WAS SHE EXHIBITING

SOMETHING LIKE THE STOCKHOLM SYNDROME?

THAT IS THAT SHE WAS, HAD BECOME SO DISEMPOWERED, SO VICTIMIZED,

THAT IN HER PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVASTATION,

SHE WAS IDENTIFYING

WITH THE PEOPLE WHO HAD POWER OVER HER.

Narrator: THE SAME QUESTIONS ARE ASKED AGAIN

MORE THAN THREE CENTURIES LATER

WITH THE KIDNAPPING OF ANOTHER IMPORTANT DAUGHTER.

WHEN HEIRESS PATRICIA HEARST IS CAPTURED

BY A RADICAL LEFTIST GROUP IN 1974,

SHE APPEARS TO JOIN THEIR CAUSE--

EVEN HELPING THEM ROB A BANK--

AND RAISES COMPARISONS TO POCAHONTAS.

Smith: THERE BECOME THESE ANALYSES IN THE PRESS

THAT TALK ABOUT, WELL, GEE, POCAHONTAS WAS A DAUGHTER

OF A REALLY RICH AND POWERFUL LEADER.

SHE WAS KIDNAPPED,

AND THEN WE DIDN'T QUITE KNOW WHAT SIDE SHE WAS FOR.

WAS SHE STILL WITH HER PEOPLE?

WAS SHE FOR THE ENGLISH?

[BELL TOLLING]

Narrator: WE STILL DON'T KNOW,

BUT THE WOMAN WHO IS BOTH REBECCA AND MATOAKA,

NICKNAMED POCAHONTAS,

IS ABOUT TO MEET ANOTHER ENGLISHMAN NAMED JOHN.

UNLIKE JOHN SMITH, THIS WOULD BE A REAL LOVE STORY.

OR WOULD IT?

[CROWD CHEERING]

Narrator: ON THE SILVER SCREEN,

THE ROMANCE OF POCAHONTAS AND JOHN SMITH

PLAYS LIKE A FAIRY TALE.

♪

IN REAL LIFE, THERE MAY ALSO HAVE BEEN ROMANCE,

BUT WITH AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SUITOR.

WHILE A HOSTAGE IN JAMESTOWN,

SHE MEETS A WEALTHY PLANTER NAMED JOHN ROLFE.

♪

IN 1614, ROLFE WRITES TO SIR THOMAS DALE,

GOVERNOR OF THE COLONY,

DECLARING AND DEFENDING HIS LOVE FOR POCAHONTAS.

♪

John Rolfe: TO WHOM MY HEART AND BEST THOUGHTS ARE,

AND HAVE LONG TIME BEEN SO ENTANGLED,

AND ENTHRALLED IN SO INTRICATE A LABYRINTH.

Narrator: ROLFE IS CLEARLY SMITTEN.

POCAHONTAS MAY HAVE BEEN MOTIVATED

BY MORE DIPLOMATIC THINKING.

HER FATHER RULED OVER A CONFEDERACY

FORMED BY MATRIMONIAL ALLIANCES,

AND HE READILY AGREED TO THE MATCH.

Atkins: THIS ALLIANCE THROUGH MARRIAGE

WAS, I THINK, TWOFOLD:

TO END THE WARFARE,

BUT TO ALSO HELP POWHATAN HAVE

MORE OF AN INFLUENCE OVER THE COLONY.

Horn: WAS IT A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE,

THAT IT GUARANTEED HER SAFETY?

DID SHE LOVE JOHN ROLFE?

WHO KNOWS, REALLY?

Narrator: THE GOVERNOR GRANTS HIS PERMISSION,

AND THEY MARRY ON APRIL 5, 1614.

[APPLAUSE]

IN 2010,

ARCHEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED THE SITE OF THE WEDDING.

William Kelso: IN OUR EXCAVATIONS IN THE FORT,

WE FOUND VARIOUS BUILDING SITES,

ONE OF WHICH WAS THE FIRST CHURCH.

AND IT WAS THERE THAT POCAHONTAS WAS MARRIED IN 1614,

AND ACCORDING TO THE CEREMONY,

WE CAN TELL YOU EXACTLY WHERE IN THE CHURCH SHE STOOD.

NOW, I THINK THAT... THAT GIVES ME THE GOOSEBUMPS.

Narrator: TODAY, VISITORS CAN STAND ON THE ACTUAL SPOT

WHERE THE CEREMONY TOOK PLACE.

♪

ONCE VIRGINIA IS FIRMLY ESTABLISHED,

THIS KIND OF INTERRACIAL UNION WILL FIRST BECOME UNTHINKABLE

AND THEN, AFTER THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY,

ILLEGAL.

THREE AND A HALF CENTURIES LATER,

LESS THAN 100 MILES FROM JAMESTOWN,

ANOTHER COUPLE WILL INVOKE POCAHONTAS

AND CHALLENGE THAT LAW.

MILDRED JETER,

OF AFRICAN AMERICAN AND NATIVE AMERICAN DESCENT,

MARRIES RICHARD LOVING, WHO IS WHITE.

LIKE REBECCA AND JOHN ROLFE,

THEIR WEDDING WILL MAKE HISTORY.

Smith: THESE ARE TWO OF THE MOST FAMOUS

INTERRACIAL MARRIAGES, YOU KNOW, IN NORTH AMERICA,

AND WITH SUCH CONSEQUENCES.

Narrator: THE LOVINGS WERE JAILED FOR MARRYING

AND FORCED TO LEAVE THEIR HOME STATE.

AT TRIAL, THE JUDGE DECLARED:

Man: "ALMIGHTY GOD CREATED THE RACES,

WHITE, BLACK, YELLOW, MALAY AND RED,

AND HE PLACED THEM ON SEPARATE CONTINENTS.

THE FACT THAT HE SEPARATED THE RACES

SHOWS THAT HE DID NOT INTEND FOR THEM TO MIX."

Narrator: THE COUPLE TOOK THEIR CASE TO THE SUPREME COURT,

AND IN 1967, THE DECISION IN LOVING V. VIRGINIA

INVALIDATED THE PROHIBITION OF INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE NATIONWIDE.

Smith: IT'S REALLY POWERFUL THAT, UM, HOW CENTRAL THAT WAS

AND HOW APPROPRIATE IT WAS THAT DECISION HAPPENED IN VIRGINIA.

I THINK THAT'S REALLY KIND OF PERFECT.

Narrator: POCAHONTAS' MARRIAGE

ALSO HAD POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS.

AS GOVERNOR THOMAS DALE WROTE IN 1614,

IT USHERED IN A PERIOD KNOWN AS "THE POCAHONTAS PEACE."

Thomas Dale: POWHATAN'S DAUGHTER IS SINCE MARRIED

TO AN ENGLISH GENTLEMAN OF GOOD UNDERSTANDING,

ANOTHER KNOT TO BIND THIS PEACE THE STRONGER.

♪

Narrator: THE ROYAL HOSTAGE HAD BECOME A BRIDE

AND A DIPLOMAT PUTTING THE COLONY ON STEADY GROUND.

Townsend: WHEN JOHN ROLFE AND POCAHONTAS MARRIED,

THE ENGLISH AGREED TO STOP DEMANDING TRIBUTE,

PAYMENTS IN CORN FROM POWHATAN,

AND TO STOP DEMANDING

THAT THEY RETURN ALL THE WEAPONS THEY HAD STOLEN.

AND THE INDIANS AGREED THAT, FOR A WHILE AT ANY RATE,

THEY WOULD STOP ATTACKING THE ENGLISH

WHENEVER THEY LEFT THE FORT.

Narrator: DURING THIS HONEYMOON PERIOD,

REBECCA AND JOHN ROLFE HAVE A BABY BOY.

THEY NAME HIM THOMAS.

Townsend: JOHN ROLFE WROTE IN ECSTATIC TERMS

BOTH ABOUT THE PEACE

AND ABOUT THE LIFE HE WAS LIVING ON THE FARM

WITH, WITH POCAHONTAS.

Narrator: ON THAT FARM, ROLFE EXPERIMENTS WITH A CROP

THAT WILL REVERSE THE FORTUNES OF THE COLONY

AND DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY:

TOBACCO.

Penney: NORTH AMERICAN TOBACCO, NICOTIANA RUSTICA,

UM, WAS MUCH HARSHER

AND NOT AS PLEASANT TO SMOKE SOCIALLY

AS SOUTHERN TOBACCOS--

UH, NICOTIANA TOBACUM, FOR EXAMPLE,

WHICH WAS THE TOBACCO THAT THE SPANISH WERE EXPORTING.

THE SPANISH GUARDED THEIR ACCESS TO THAT SPECIES OF TOBACCO

VERY CAREFULLY.

IT WAS A CAPITAL OFFENSE

TO SELL TOBACCO SEEDS FROM THE SOUTH.

Narrator: WE DON'T KNOW HOW ROLFE ACQUIRED

THE PRECIOUS SEEDS,

BUT HE INTRODUCES THE SOUTHERN TOBACCO

TO JAMESTOWN.

AND ACCORDING TO ORAL TRADITION,

HE LEARNS POWHATAN METHODS FOR CURING TOBACCO FROM POCAHONTAS--

HANGING IT TO DRY RATHER THAN LAYING IT ON THE GROUND.

♪

Townsend: IT GREW SO WELL

AND SOLD FOR SO MUCH MONEY BACK IN LONDON

THAT PRETTY SOON ALMOST ALL OF THE VIRGINIA COLONISTS

WERE PLANTING TOBACCO,

EVEN WHEN THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN PLANTING FOOD.

Narrator: DESPITE HIGH HOPES FOR GOLD OR A ROUTE WEST,

JAMESTOWN HAS NEVER DELIVERED ON THE INVESTMENT OF ITS BACKERS...

UNTIL NOW.

BUT ROLFE'S TOBACCO IS A DEVIL'S BARGAIN.

Smith: YOU KNOW, THIS INCREDIBLY ADDICTIVE DRUG

THAT'S KILLED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD, UM,

DEPLETES SOIL, EVERYTHING ELSE.

Narrator: IT WILL CREATE A DEMAND FOR LABOR

THAT WILL KICK OFF THE SLAVE TRADE

AND FORCE INDIANS OFF THEIR LAND.

BUT IN THE 16-TEENS,

THE GOLDEN LEAF WAS SIMPLY A MONEY MAKER.

THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN VIRGINIA.

ITS SUCCESS WILL ALSO PROPEL POCAHONTAS' FAME.

Ganteaume: HER ASSOCIATION WITH TOBACCO,

WHICH NEVER GOES AWAY,

IT STARTS BEING USED TO SELL TOBACCO.

Narrator: IN HER LIFETIME,

SHE'S GOING TO BE USED TO SELL SOMETHING ELSE--

AMERICA ITSELF.

[BELL RINGING]

[YELLING IN DISTANCE]

Narrator: IN 1616,

POCAHONTAS BOARDS AN ENGLISH SHIP

FOR THE SECOND TIME.

IT IS CAPTAINED BY THE VERY SAME MAN

WHO KIDNAPPED HER JUST THREE YEARS BEFORE.

BUT ON THIS VOYAGE,

SHE IS AN HONORED GUEST OF THE VIRGINIA COMPANY,

SETTING SAIL FOR LONDON.

Townsend: SHE WAS PRESSURED TO GO WITH HER HUSBAND

AND HER THEN VERY YOUNG TODDLER CHILD TO ENGLAND

BY THE VIRGINIA COMPANY BECAUSE THEY NEEDED,

DESPERATELY NEEDED TO USE THE MARRIAGE,

HER MARRIAGE TO JOHN ROLFE,

AS PROOF THAT THE SETTLEMENT WAS VIABLE,

THAT THE INDIANS WEREN'T GOING TO ATTACK,

AND THAT IT WAS SAFE TO SETTLE THERE.

Narrator: SHE IS VERY POSSIBLY THE PERFECT PERSON FOR THE JOB.

Ganteaume: SO, ALL THROUGHOUT THE 1500s,

EUROPEANS WERE THINKING OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AS CANNIBALS,

AS IDOLATERS,

AS BRUTISH,

AND MOST OF ALL AS BEING IRREDEEMABLY NON-CHRISTIAN.

OK. ENTER POCAHONTAS.

SHE IS NONE OF THESE THINGS.

Narrator: IN LONDON,

ALL THINGS VIRGINIA ARE THE RAGE.

THE 1609 BERMUDA SHIPWRECK OF THE SEA VENTURE--

THE SHIP JOHN ROLFE SAILED ON TO THE NEW WORLD--

INSPIRED SHAKESPEARE'S "THE TEMPEST"

AND ROMANTICIZED THE PROMISE OF VIRGINIA.

POCAHONTAS ARRIVES TO FIND HERSELF VERY MUCH IN FASHION.

Ganteaume: SHE TOOK EUROPE BY STORM.

SHE SHOWS UP SPEAKING ENGLISH IN ELIZABETHAN GARB.

SHE SHOWS UP AS A CHRISTIAN WIFE.

SHE SHOWS UP AS SOMEBODY WHO WAS INVITED

TO THE COURT OF KING JAMES.

SO, POCAHONTAS RIGHT AWAY

BECOMES SOMEBODY THAT EUROPEANS CAN RELATE TO

AND THEY CAN UNDERSTAND.

♪

Narrator: TO ADVERTISE HER VISIT,

THE VIRGINIA COMPANY COMMISSIONS HER PORTRAIT.

Townsend: SIMON VAN DE PASSE, AN ARTIST AT THE TIME,

WAS ASKED BY THE VIRGINIA COMPANY

TO SKETCH HER

AND THEN MAKE AN ENGRAVING FOR A BROCHURE.

Narrator: IT'S THE ONLY PICTURE OF HER MADE FROM LIFE.

Townsend: IT IS NOTEWORTHY THAT HE DID NOT, AT THAT TIME,

ATTEMPT TO MAKE HER LOOK LIKE YOUR AVERAGE WHITE ENGLISH GIRL

OR GERMAN GIRL OR FRENCH GIRL.

RIGHT. SHE IS VERY CLEARLY IN THAT IMAGE

A NATIVE AMERICAN PERSON.

Narrator: WHAT DID SHE THINK OF IT ALL?

THE IMAGE CONTAINS CLUES.

Townsend: THEY WANTED TO PROVE TO THE LONDON PUBLIC

THAT THE INDIANS LOVE US,

THE INDIANS WANT US TO GO TO VIRGINIA.

SO THEY NEEDED AN IMAGE OF A HAPPY INDIAN

DRESSED IN ELIZABETHAN CLOTHES, OKAY.

BUT SOMETIMES I WONDER IF IT WAS PARTLY HER DECISION

TO PUT ON THAT FIERCE EXPRESSION STARING STRAIGHT OUT.

Narrator: AND THEN THERE IS THE ALGONQUIAN WORD FOR VIRGINIA,

PHONETICALLY SPELLED OUT IN ENGLISH.

Townsend: AROUND THE BAND OF THE PICTURE THERE IS TEXT.

THEN UNDERNEATH, IT SAYS VIRGINIA,

THAT IS CALLED TSENACOMMACAH.

SO WHERE COULD SIMON VAN DE PASSE, THE ARTIST,

HAVE GOTTEN HIS INFORMATION?

CLEARLY FROM HER.

Narrator: SHE MAY WELL HAVE BEEN CAREFULLY CONTROLLING HER IMAGE,

EVEN AS SHE PROMOTED COLONIZATION.

Gray: WAS POCAHONTAS A VICTIM?

A PAWN?

THERE'S EVEN BEEN TALK, YOU KNOW,

SOME PEOPLE EVEN EQUATE HER WITH BEING A TRAITOR

TO HER OWN PEOPLE.

Narrator: WAS SHE SELLING THE POWHATAN OUT?

OR JUST PLAYING BOTH SIDES?

Smith: MAYBE SHE WAS A DOUBLE AGENT.

SHE'S THERE TO GATHER INTELLIGENCE,

TO SEE THIS THING THAT HAD TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED.

Narrator: WE KNOW SHE MADE THE TRIP

WITH HER FATHER'S BLESSING.

Townsend: IN FACT, HE SENT HIGH-RANKING PEOPLE WITH HER

IN ORDER THAT THEY SHOULD LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ENGLISH

AND BRING BACK THAT INFORMATION.

Atkins: I HAVE NO DOUBT

THAT POWHATAN WAS ALSO BEING STRATEGIC

ABOUT HER GOING TO THIS PLACE

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHO THESE, YOU KNOW, INTERLOPERS WERE,

THESE INVADERS WERE.

Narrator: A MEETING WITH AN OLD FRIEND

RETURNED FROM THE DEAD

REVEALS SOMETHING OF HER ALLEGIANCES.

John Smith: POCAHONTAS.

Townsend: JOHN SMITH LOVED FAME,

AND HE CHASED IT IN ANY WAY THAT HE COULD.

AND HE CERTAINLY WORKED HARD WHEN POCAHONTAS CAME TO LONDON

TO ADVERTISE HIS OWN PRIOR CONNECTION WITH HER.

Narrator: IF SMITH ANTICIPATED A HEARTFELT REUNION,

HE WAS DISAPPOINTED.

TO POCAHONTAS, HE WAS THE SELL-OUT.

Townsend: SHE FELT LIED TO

IN TERMS OF HAVING PROMISED NOT TO TAKE THEIR LAND,

TO TREAT THEM RESPECTFULLY, ET CETERA.

AND SHE SAID THAT VERY VOCIFEROUSLY

IN FRONT OF A NUMBER OF PEOPLE.

Narrator: REJECTING SMITH AS A TRAITOR TO HER PEOPLE

SUGGESTS THAT SHE WAS STILL LOYAL TO THE POWHATAN,

DESPITE HER POSITION AMONG THE ENGLISH.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE POWHATAN

SEEMS OBVIOUS TODAY,

BUT THAT WAS NOT SO IN THE MOMENT.

Smith: WE'RE BLINDED BECAUSE WE KNOW THE ENDING.

SO EVERYTHING ABOUT POCAHONTAS

IS KNOWING THAT THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENT

WAS DISASTROUS FOR INDIAN PEOPLE.

AND WE'RE COLLAPSING A CENTURY OF HISTORY

INTO, YOU KNOW, THESE MOMENTS.

Narrator: AFTER ALL, IN 1616,

JAMESTOWN WAS A STRUGGLING COLONY,

ALWAYS ON THE VERGE OF STARVATION.

Smith: YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TOWN FOOL

TO COME IN AND SAY, OH, THIS IS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN,

AND IT'S GOING TO BE TERRIBLE,

AND WE SHOULD KILL THEM ALL NOW WHILE THEY'RE SLEEPING.

Narrator: THE WORK OF PROMOTING THE COLONY DONE,

IN MARCH OF 1617,

THE ROLFE FAMILY CASTS OFF FROM LONDON

AND SAILS DOWN THE THAMES EN ROUTE TO VIRGINIA.

BUT THEY NEVER EVEN REACH THE OCEAN.

SEVERAL PASSENGERS, INCLUDING POCAHONTAS,

ARE TOO ILL TO GO ON.

Penney: WE DON'T KNOW, UM, WHAT SHE WAS AFFLICTED WITH.

SOME EVEN ARE AFRAID THAT SHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN POISONED,

THAT THEY DIDN'T WANT HER TO GO BACK.

WE DON'T KNOW.

Narrator: AT JUST 22 YEARS OLD

AND AN OCEAN AWAY FROM HER HOME,

POCAHONTAS DIES.

[BABY CRIES]

JOHN ROLFE LEAVES THEIR SON

TO BE RAISED BY HIS BROTHER IN ENGLAND.

[CRYING]

THE TWO WILL NEVER MEET AGAIN.

BUT POCAHONTAS' IMPACT DOES NOT END WITH HER DEATH.

HER SON, THOMAS ROLFE, GROWS UP IN BRITAIN,

BUT RETURNS TO AMERICA AS AN ADULT IN 1635.

Penney: HE HAS THE ESTATES THAT JOHN ROLFE CREATED,

AND HE IS VERY WEALTHY AS A RESULT,

AS A TOBACCO PLANTATION OWNER AND MANAGER.

Narrator: HIS BECOMES ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT

FIRST FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA.

HIS MOTHER'S BLOODLINE QUITE LITERALLY FOUNDS AMERICA.

Penney: NOT ONLY THOMAS JEFFERSON'S SISTER

MARRIED A DESCENDANT OF POCAHONTAS,

BUT HIS DAUGHTER MARRIED A DESCENDANT OF POCAHONTAS

FROM A DIFFERENT BRANCH OF THE FAMILY AS WELL.

Narrator: TODAY THERE ARE MORE THAN 30,000

DOCUMENTED DESCENDANTS OF POCAHONTAS

THROUGH THOMAS ROLFE.

Townsend: IT SEEMS TO BE APPEALING TO MANY AMERICANS

TO SAY THAT THEY ARE DESCENDED FROM AN INDIAN PRINCESS.

Narrator: DESCENDANTS OF POCAHONTAS

INCLUDE ROBERT E. LEE

AND FIRST LADY EDITH BOLLING GALT WILSON.

IT'S LINEAGE THAT CONFERS STATUS,

LIKE BEING RELATED TO PASSENGERS ON THE MAYFLOWER.

BUT IS IT TRULY MEANINGFUL?

Townsend: MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO CLAIM TO BE DESCENDANTS OF HER

CAN'T EVEN SAY WHEN THEY'RE ASKED

WHAT TRIBE OR TRIBES SHE WAS AFFILIATED WITH,

KNOW ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT HER LIFE.

Narrator: IT'S A COMPLICATED LEGACY

THAT WOULD TAKE A SURPRISING TURN.

Smith: IN THE 1920s,

THIS IS WHEN THESE IDEOLOGICAL CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST.

Narrator: IN 1924,

VIRGINIA'S REGISTRAR OF VITAL STATISTICS,

AN AVOWED WHITE SUPREMACIST, WALTER PLECKER,

LEADS AN EFFORT TO "PURIFY" THE WHITE RACE.

HE CLASSIFIES ANYONE WITH ONE DROP OF NON-WHITE BLOOD

AS "COLORED,"

WHICH INCLUDES POCAHONTAS' DESCENDANTS.

Smith: UH-OH.

I BRAG ABOUT MY POCAHONTAS ANCESTRY.

SO HOW DOES THAT GET FIXED?

Narrator: IT'S FIXED

BY WHAT COMES TO BE KNOWN AS THE POCAHONTAS EXCEPTION.

Atkins: IT BASICALLY PROTECTS THESE WHITE INDIVIDUALS

WHO CLAIM DESCENDANCY FROM POCAHONTAS

FROM BEING MOVED INTO THE COLORED CATEGORY.

Narrator: AT THE SAME TIME,

THE COLORED CATEGORY LUMPS EVERYONE TOGETHER,

AND ON PAPER, NATIVE AMERICANS LOSE THEIR UNIQUE HERITAGE.

LESS THAN A HUNDRED YEARS LATER,

THE PAMUNKEY, THE SURVIVING MEMBERS OF POCAHONTAS' TRIBE,

TAKE ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO GET THAT RECOGNITION BACK.

AT LAST, THE POCAHONTAS EXCEPTION DOES SOME GOOD.

Gray: PLECKER, ALL HIS EFFORTS TO FIGHT AGAINST US,

BASICALLY HELPED OUR RECOGNITION

BECAUSE IF HE WAS FIGHTING SO HARD AGAINST US,

THEN WE MUST HAVE EXISTED.

IF, UH, IF WE DIDN'T EXIST, WHY WAS HE FIGHTING?

WE MAINTAINED OUR IDENTITY.

IT WAS TOUGH,

BUT WE CAME OUT OF IT JUST KNOWING WHO WE WERE.

Narrator: POCAHONTAS' FAME IS ETERNAL.

WE HAVE BEEN TELLING OURSELVES HER STORY

FOR 400 YEARS.

Actress: POCAHONTAS ASKS HIM TO GIVE HER THIS MAN'S LIFE.

Smith: IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE COUNTRY

TO SEE INDIANS IN SOME WAY PARTNERS TO THE UNITED STATES.

POCAHONTAS WAS THERE, SHE WAS PART OF THINGS,

AND WE LOVE POCAHONTAS.

PEOPLE ARE SAYING IT STILL MATTERS

AND INDIANS ARE FUNDAMENTALLY PART OF THE COUNTRY.

Narrator: JOHN SMITH AND DISNEY MAY HAVE MADE HER FAMOUS...

BUT BEYOND THE MYTH,

HERS IS A STORY AT THE CORE OF THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA.

♪