Pocahontas

In so doing, Allen (p. 31) provides us with a different account of Pocahontas, one who is painted as a visionary and gifted young woman who is dedicated to the spiritual traditions of her people, the loose alliance of Algonquin tribes known as the Powhatan Alliance or ôTsenacommacah.ö AllenÆs account of Pocahontas not only shows us a young woman able to bridge the distinctions between the English and the Algonquin, but also illustrates how the interaction of these two distinct cultures resulted in lasting changes on each group.

The story of Pocahontas offered by Allen is one that provides great insight into the legendary Native American from a native perspective. Pocahontas roughly translates as ômischief,ö Allen tells us,

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ifeùher destiny, if you will. It fore-shadowed the part she would play in the transformation of the Powhatan peoples and of the land they knew as the tsencommacah.ö Pocahontas will set into motion a chain of events that Allen (p. 60) claims will ultimately, among other things, ôliberate the starving and miserable peoples of Europe and beyond, and introduce to a world awakening from feudalist absolutism the idea of egalitarianism.ö This chain of events is set into motion by Captain John Smith, though unwittingly. Allen (p. 37) describes Smith as ôa new breed of Englishmanùthrill seeker, entrepreneur, man on the make,ö who ôWhile Christian in faithàwas more interested in adventure than spirituality of any sort.ö When Smith loses a game of chance, he must take on the dangerous mission of discovering the headwaters of the Chicakahominy River and make contact with the king of the Powhatan Alliance, Powhatan. During this mission, Smith is captured by PocahontasÆ tribe, the Pamunkey. In SmithÆs own version of events, he comes off as the all-powerful male but in AllenÆs version he has his head on the chopping block in January of 1608. Smith is made to perform a series of tests by the Powhatan. For a considerable period of time he
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Approximate Word count = 2437
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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