The Story of What Happened to the Real Pocahontas
The Famous Girl
Pocahontas is a name we’ve all heard, largely thanks to the 1995 eponymous Disney movie. The lively animated movie turned the Native American woman into one of the most popular Disney princesses of all time.
Even though the movie brought joy to everybody’s heart, the real story of the beautiful Pocahontas is much darker and more tragic than shown in the film. Let’s see who Pocahontas really was.
The Nickname
Pocahontas was born in 1596 in a Powhatan tribe, but she wasn’t born with the name Pocahontas. Her parents initially gave her the name Amonute and Pocahontas was her nickname, which she shared with her mother. The name is a Powhatan nickname meaning ‘the playful one.’
The happy child was a delight to be around, spinning cartwheels and always in a playful mood. She received another name when she became older…
The New Name
According to the Native American culture, as the kids get older, they’re supposed to get a new name. This name was supposed to reflect the personality traits that the child exhibits.
Pocahontas’s new name was Matoka. The name, in her native language, meant ‘the flower between two streams.’ This was a reference to Pocahontas’s beauty, which was growing.
The Parents
The young girl’s parents were a woman named Pocahontas and a man called Wahunsenaca, who was a Chief Powhatan.
The chief oversaw multiple other tribes and was the chief of approximately 25,000 people. He even had 30 low-level chiefs working under him. Although a lot is known about her father’s history books, only a few things are known about her mother.
Pocahontas is a name most people are familiar with. However, her story is different from the one we think is true. It wasn’t all roses and romance as portrayed in the movie, and explorer John Smith’s writing. Instead, the Native American woman faced many hardships in the 21 years of her life. Let’s read exactly who Pocahontas was and what happened to her.