Indian Interest In English In Pocahantas And The Powhatan Dilemma

When the British asserted their authority over the east shore of the United States, they could not have predicted the many diverse groups of native people they were soon to encounter. In the novel, Pocahantas and the Powhatan Dilemma, the Algonquian Indians, in particular, show a willingness to learn more about the English, a desire to maintain control over their native lands and a collective intelligence far beyond the English’s meager assumptions. In these ways, I have read about a diverse community that was misunderstood and belittled in many ways. Let us continue to the first main point.

The Algonquian Indians show a willingness to learn more about the English. This curiosity might have stemmed from Werowocomoco's need to learn more in the case of making strategies against the newcomers. To do this, he would send subjects to make deals with the colonists and report back to him. Also, it appears from historical documents and witnesses that Pocahontas, during her imprisonment, made the most of her given situation, with charismatic charm, intelligence, and interest that enabled her to explore these outsider's way of life, including an evident religious change.

Although the English could not force her to learn their language and beliefs, it was in her best interests to do so for the future translation and communication between her people. Now that we have talked about how the Indians show a willingness to learn, let us move on to discuss how they wanted to maintain control.

Before the English arrived, the Algonquian Indians show the want to maintain control over their native lands. We can see this because Powhatan inherited a lot of lands, which was of great value to them. As a chief, or the manmanitowik, the people and land they control is directly correlated to their power, so to appear strong, he wants to keep a tight reign over his lands.

By marrying his daughters off to other powerful families and even one of his enemies, the English, he is creating bonds and strengthening his relationships with those people. The best misunderstanding between the colonists and the Indians was that of land proprietorship. In the brains of the natives selling territory resembled a fool trying to sell air. In the end, this would prompt conflicts and fights. Later in the book, after Pocahontas passed away from a disease, the colonist's intentions became clear. Up to the end of her life, Rolfe called her by her childhood name, and she probably knew that whatever his affections might have been towards her, he would consider her and her people like kids, inferior compared to the powerful English.

Uttamatokin, an Indian who survived the journey back, openly spoke of what he saw in London; he knew it was eventually coming over to America because 'the last few years of continued importation of people and supplies from England, and the increasing number of settlements, would have provided compelling corroborating evidence,'

Now that we have talked about how the Indians wanted to maintain control, let us move on to discuss how they showed their intelligence. Many times, the Algonquian Indians have shown a level of intelligence beyond the English's meager assumptions. In a tribute made by Purchas, Pocahontas, while in London, was considered 'not onely accustome[d]... to civilitie,' but she was also 'accordingly respected,'

To the English, it showed that the natives were capable of adapting to their culture and becoming more than 'savages'. To Pocahontas, this helped push the idea that her people and the colonists could live together in peace, which never came to fruition. In terms of religious beliefs, the Algonquian Indians 'the universe was not so simple as to be divided between good and evil,' (Townsend, 21). They focused on the belief that the universe focused on the struggle as a part of one's life. This is proof that the Indians great knowledge and belief system that is akin to the English’s. The only reason we do not know more about their belief system is the fact that there is no single Native American language, and very few artifacts have been discovered explaining what they thought.

In conclusion, to put it plainly, there is no basic method to tell the story of the mainland that had been inhabited by different people for a large number of years. Their stories are varied as any others, their societies as rich, their insight as profound. English contact did not create societies that produced a superior lifestyle, but instead, they developed colonies that became dependent on a long-established culture. Through reading and analyzing the Pocahantas and the Powhatan Dilemma, the Algonquian Indians show a willingness to learn more about the English, a want to maintain control over their native lands and a collective intelligence beyond the English’s meager assumptions.