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?"

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