Original subtitles

(Native American music)

- They're taking us to the Iroquois village.

I hope all the other tribes won't be offended.

- This is Iroquois territory.

That makes them the host nation.

- I wonder what kind of a welcome

they're going to give a Mohican.

- We'll soon find out, look.

- I don't think the official welcoming committee

is gonna be a problem.

- Those aren't Iroquois canoes, they're much faster.

- They're Chippewa.

A tribe that lives to the north of the Great Lakes.

- You are welcome.

- We greet you, Pocahontas.

(chanting)

- Let's hope they're friendly.

- Thank you for escorting us.

You know you have the most beautiful canoes I've ever seen.

- We are all waiting here,

hoping the Iroquois will not attack us.

They are hostile people who can't be trusted.

- I am an Iroquois.

I know you don't like us but I have come in peace.

- The Great Spirit sent us here.

We must all be friends at the great gathering.

- What's the Mohican doing here?

Mohicans are our enemies.

- No, wait, take it easy.

This Mohican here is with me.

- You know what we do with Mohicans?

Usually we cut off their heads.

- Oh, no.

- Stop.

Moc, calm down.

Stop and think before you go too far.

- Yes.

You Mohawks, are burning with anger.

- So?

- Today our hearts must be full of happiness, joy.

- Yellow Wolf is right.

All the tribes in the region have gathered

to hear a message of peace.

I bring a message from the Great Spirit.

We must all put aside our rivalries

and learn to live together like brothers.

(chanting)

- Who are these?

- That is the Great Council.

It is made up of 50 members

who represent the five nations of the Iroquois.

- One's a woman.

- She is the wisest of them all.

Nothing is done without her consent.

(chanting)

(soft music)

- Oh, I'm so happy you're here.

Good morning, friends.

You're so nice.

- Good morning, Pocahontas.

I hope you had a good night's sleep.

- Oh yes, thank you.

- I didn't mean to scare him away.

- Oh no, you didn't, don't worry.

Do you wish to talk to me?

- Yes, we have lots to talk about my child.

Many years ago, when I was about your age,

my name was Little Beaver

and I was great friends with your grandmother Jaya.

- Oh, you used to know granny, I'm so glad.

But how did you know I was coming here?

- I read it on the clouds.

As I grew older I realized my powers were growing stronger.

Today I belong to the great clan of the Shaman,

like you.

Pocahontas, my old bones crave the sunshine.

Come with me, child, we'll talk as we walk.

The task that awaits you is not easy.

The tribes have gathered to hear your message

but they don't have peace in their hearts.

- That's why I've come to talk to them.

- We were all waiting anxiously to hear

what you and Hopi-Ho has been sent to tell us,

the Great Spirit's message of hope.

It was the medicine men who convinced the Chiefs

to bury the hatchet and gather here

but many of the Braves are not happy about it.

- I'm here to stop them fighting.

- Yes, I know.

The Iroquois respects my judgment.

I'll send messengers to all the tribes

when we return to the village.

- Oh, look at you, little fox.

You've come to say hello, that makes me so happy.

How are you?

Good morning to you too.

Oh what are you saying, little fox?

You don't want to hurt the woodpecker, do you?

We all have to learn to live in harmony.

You're my friends, both of you.

- This is a good omen, Pocahontas.

If you can create harmony between a woodpecker and a fox

you will certainly be able to keep the peace

between the tribes gathered to hear your message.

- If I don't, I will have failed my mission.

- Oh, what a magnificent sight.

It expresses all the power of Mother Earth.

(soft music)

- [Shaman] Has anybody ever told you

the legend of these falls?

- [Pocahontas] No, I'd love to hear it.

- Many many years ago, there was an old man

who lived alone on the top of a mountain.

The mountain was so high

he could see the ocean in the distance.

Often clouds swirled around him,

giving him and everything around him a silvery sheen.

The old man had five young beautiful daughters.

Their gowns were made of spray from the falls,

their sandals formed from the foam spraying off the rocks.

As they flew around the mountain,

their long silver dresses flowed in the wind.

One day, the five sisters decided to explore

the towering cliffs founded by the Great Wave.

- Let's go play down there.

- The youngest sister always yearned new adventures.

Followed by the other four,

she plunged through the air like a falcon

down to the surface of the water.

They had such a wonderful time,

flying in and out of the rocks,

gliding across the water.

They forgot the passage of time.

Sunset, the moon came up

and they played and played until they fell asleep.

The next day when the Sun came up,

the cliffs were no longer the same.

A fast-flowing river laid below them,

thundering, foaming over the rocks.

The Sun caught the flying spray,

filling the air with diamonds

as the water plunged over the cliffs.

The five sisters were so entranced,

flying up and down the curtain of water

that they've stayed there ever since.

(laughing)

When you go to the gathering of the tribes at the falls,

you'll see the Sun still shines

on the spray of the sisters' gowns.

Yes, child, they're still there

playing endlessly in the fall.

The closer you get, the easier they are to see.

- Yeah, they're there all right.

I've seen him myself many times.

- I can't wait to see it.

What about you, Lee?

Have you been there?

- I'd like to but it's impossible.

Every time I try, I get my wings wet.

- That's because you're not as smart as a fox.

I'll be there to listen to your message, Pocahontas.

- So will I, no matter how wet I get.

See you later, Pocahontas.

- [Fox] We will go together.

- [Pocahontas] Goodbye, my friends.

- [Fox] Bye!

(laughing)

- Thank you, I've never heard such a lovely story.

(chanting)

- We're grateful to you for sending messengers

to the other tribes,

inviting them to gather here in one big camp

stretching all the way to the falls.

- To the falls.

- [Hopi-Ho] And we thank you for your hospitality but now--

- We want to go to the falls,

so we'll be ready for people to meet us there.

- I already thought of that.

I have ordered tents to be pitched

and the tribes that still have to arrive

will raise their totem poles.

My old tired legs will take me there at sunset.

The gathering is being held on the lands of my people.

It's only right that I am on hand

to greet and reassure the Chiefs of the tribes

as they arrive.

(chanting)

- There's a tribe pitching its tents already.

- What tribe is it?

They look like Iroquois.

- They are but unfortunately they don't belong

to the league of the five nations.

They're Huron.

A tribe that has never been at peace with its neighbors.

Even so they are still part of the Iroquois people.

That falcon's carrying a message.

(whistling)

- On our journey I've noticed

that many tribes are hostile to you.

Is that why you've created the league of the five nations?

- Hiawatha, the chief who brought the tribes together

was summoned by the Great Spirit a few years ago.

He was a Mohawk.

His successor was to be a Huron, Deganawida,

but he was voted out by the other tribes

and the Huron have been our enemies from that day on.

Hiawatha exhorted us all to maintain the balance

between people, animals and nature

according to the laws of the Great Spirit.

He reminded us, we are all brothers

and that the decline of one

will cause the decline of all the others.

- Before we reach the falls,

can you tell me something about the tribes

that make up the five nations.

- Tonight around the fire at the great gathering

you will learn everything you want to know.

(whistling)

- Good news.

The message was for me, that eagle comes from my village.

He just told me my parents are camped close by

with a delegation from our tribe.

- Well, well, well, how about that?

The great Mohican can't do without his parents.

- At least we Mohicans have respect for our elders

which is more than can be said for you.

- He's just teasing you, Moc.

I'm sure if Yellow Wolf's parents were to show up too

he'd be the first to run and embrace them.

- We're all kids.

- We're brothers too.

Remember our pact on the peace path?

(laughing)

(soft music)

(people chattering)

- Look at all the people, I've never seen such a crowd.

What a surprise.

- Yes, it's great and there are more to come.

- Hello.

- I don't understand why no one's sitting with us over here.

I really want to meet them.

- Perhaps because they think you're tired from your journey

but tomorrow you'll meet them.

They'll probably be so many,

you'll have to fight them off.

- Could you tell me more about the league of the Iroquois?

- It all began when Hiawatha tried

to bring the tribes together for the first time.

He's only been dead a few years

but already many legends have sprung up

about his achievements.

I'll tell you the most popular.

It's told by storytellers around the campfire

on long winter nights

and I think it's the closest to the truth.

Hiawatha could see far into the future

but according to the legend

he was much more than a mere prophet.

At the beginning of time,

the world was populated by fearsome giants

and man-eating beasts.

One day the desperate cries of people

pursued by these monsters,

awakened the lord of the heavens

who took on mortal guise

and came down to earth to help them.

The lord of the heavens told those he helped,

"You are my children.

"I will make of you a great nation.

"Your descendants will be more numerous

"than the leaves on the trees

"and you will enjoy great prosperity."

And he chose a site for some of them

on which to build their village,

they gave them the name Mohawk

and he gave them dogs to hunt with.

He showed them how to make arrows and lances,

how to track animals.

He showed them how to feed themselves off the land.

He gave them the seeds for corn, tobacco,

beans, squash and grain.

- They didn't have to do anything for themselves.

- Yes, that's true.

He took another group on a long trek

through the forest to a fertile valley

where he ordered them to build a village.

He gave them the name Oneida

and showed them how to weave baskets,

how to make weapons.

Then the lord of the heavens led a third party

to the foot of the mountains.

He called this group the Onondaga

and taught them the same things he taught the others.

He showed them how to interpret the eternal laws

and gave them the gift of communication

with the Great Spirit.

Then he set out again with those who remained

and brought them to the banks of a lake

that sparkled in the sunlight.

He called them the Cayuga and he gave them a special talent

for making and using canoes.

Now there was only a small group left without a home.

The lord of the heavens led them

to the banks of a lake at the foot of a tall mountain.

There they became the powerful Seneca Nation.

He gave them feet so swift

they could run faster than the deer.

At that point the lord of the heavens

decided to make his home on earth

as an ordinary human being,

no longer a celestial God.

He chose the name Hiawatha

and went to live with the Mohawk,

teaching them to live in peace and harmony among themselves.

The Mohawk became the greatest of all the tribes,

while the other nations created by the lord of the heavens

also grew larger and more prosperous.

Hiawatha never stopped teaching

about the importance of love and peace.

He traveled all year around.

from one nation to another without a rest.

Often using a magic canoe, skimmed the water,

flew across the sky, as light as a bird.

He was able to move about so quickly

that he brought his message of peace

to every place that people live.

Then tragedy struck.

The nation's territories were invaded

by strangers from far away.

Cruel insensitive people

who did not respect the eternal laws,

who killed, plundered and sowed terror,

flooding through the land,

destroying everything in their path.

In desperation, the Chiefs turned to Hiawatha for help.

He ordered the tribes to gather in one place

and wait for him

and so the council of the five nations was created.

The Chiefs waited three days.

At last, on the fourth day,

the magic canoe came slipping across the lake.

The Chiefs and the wise men greeted Hiawatha warmly

as a savior but he told them,

"What is past is past,

"the future is now in your hands.

"My time on earth is over."

Before he left forever he told them,

the real danger is that each nation thinks

and acts in its own interests

ignoring the fate of the others.

The destruction of one nation

will bring about the destruction of all five.

The only way to defeat the savage foreigners

is for everyone to sit around the same fire,

smoke the same pipe, use the same tomahawk.

Then he took some eagle feathers,

gave them to the five chiefs saying,

"These will be your symbol".

- I know what you mean.

The story you tell is similar to the message of great hope

that I will give you all tomorrow.

This is the night I will never forget, Hopi-Ho.

- I'll never forget it either, Pocahontas.

(Native America music)