Amonute, Indian Princess

Jamestown, Virginia 1607-1622

by Jaimie Lachey - C. Fred Schroeder Elementary - Westminster SD

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I was the favorite child of Chief Powhatan. At least I was until I became married and his attention shifted to my half-sister Amonute, better known as, Pocahontas. She would eventually reveal her secret name but that would not occur for years to come. This is her story.

Amonute’s life was fairly simple. She would start her day off with a bath in the river. Despite the fact that the water was cold she bathed in it anyway. Amonute and the other children of the tribe were able to do this because their skin was tough from constantly bathing. The weather in Virginia was cold. In order to withstand the cold, constant scrubbing of the skin toughened it. After bathing prayers were said followed by a time of gathering ingredients for the evening stew. Amonute and her aunts would gather wild greens and water for the meal. After this task was accomplished the remainder of the day would be spent finding firewood, gathering Tuckahoe roots, and cleaning. Tobacco would then be used once again for prayers of thanksgiving for the gifts of the day!

At the age of eight Amonute left her mother and came to live with our father, Chief Powhatan. Her parents divorced and she saw her mother rarely. She lived among very important people who were dressed very immaculately. She, however, wore nothing except on special days when visitors came. She would wear a deerskin apron or a dancing costume of green leaves. Her hair was shaved and worn in one long lock. Amonute worked very hard and was a very witty child. She liked to tease people. Thus, our father gave her a new name Pocahontas, meaning “ little mischievous one.” Pocahontas acted in this manner to gain her father’s attention because he was a very busy man.

He met often with the chiefs of the various parts of his domain and was constantly surrounded by bodyguards, councilors, wives and children.

I remember the spring day they came, the white-winged birds floating on the river. I heard the others speaking about them. They weren’t friendly visitors. They built their homes inside a circle of wood. They looked like a war party. No women and children were with them. They would become violent when our people would approach. They found our oysters and ate them. They discovered our canoes and used them. When a chief from Appamatuck, came offering his arrow and pipe they did not know what to do because they did not speak our language.

Luckily the man they called Percy took the pipe. I’m sure he did not know what he was doing! Now we had new friends. And so we showed them the ways of the forest (if we hadn’t they would not have survived because they had little sense). My father could not understand why they chose the place that they did to live. It was a bad swamp where they could not grow corn or find food. But they did have nice things to trade with us. And so they gave us bells, glass beads and needles. We in turn taught them to survive!

Our father watched them for months. I think it amused him to see the English learn how to live on the land. Our father knew it was the job of the warrior to deal with them. And so my father let the neighboring tribes deal with the English in the ways they wanted to. I think he knew that the English were there to stay. My father eventually made contact with them and declared peace.

My sister and I did not see English till later in the winter. The first white man my sister and I saw was our father’s prisoner, John Smith. Our uncle had been hunting and had captured Mr. Smith. They took him to Werowocomoco, our father’s capital city. A great ceremony took place to welcome our new friend/prisoner. After spending time with the holy priests the prisoner was said to be a friend of the Indian. There was a ceremony where he was tested and became our brother. And as our new brother we called him “ Werowance” or “chief” because he was respected!

With this new relationship established our father would send food and make visits to the English. On his visits he would take my sister. At the end of the winter Werowance came back with many solders. Our father greeted him with honor. In exchange for corn Werowance gave our father small treasures (the size of seeds and the color of the sky). I remember seeing my sister watch Werowance. She knew he was important but he was still new to this land and needed more help. Our father made a deal with John: if he moved the fort closer our father would take care of him.

The English never moved but our father remained loyal. Or so he tried to make it look. Secretly I wondered if my Father fed the starving English men to gain their trust as well as they guns. That next spring things changed. We didn’t see much of the white men nor Werowance. Our peaceful ways wore off when we began stealing their tools and they our corn. During this time Pocahontas was forbidden to visit the fort. If they were to kidnap Pocahontas they would be able to control my father! Eventually some of the warriors were taken by the Englishmen and my father was forced to send my sister to bargain for their lives. Werowance knew this was a good gesture and released them.

After that event relations changed and we were friends once more! And with our renewed relationship my sister was once again allowed to visit the English. She would always come home with a new story. The fort was crowded with people and she would spend her time playing with the English boys. She entertained them by doing cartwheels and dancing. I know the people were enchanted with her. How could they not! She was beautiful, funny, and gracious with everyone she met! Of course they loved her! But her affection was turned to Werowance. He was brave and respected by his people. He also had lots of our beloved treasures.

I think my sister may have had a crush on him. No one really knows. All that we really know is that Werowance would leave Pocahontas during her visits. This angered my father! He felt it was betrayal.

I remember hearing my father talk to some of his warriors. He had said the Werowance had gone exploring the land and had met with our enemies the Monacans. Some more trading had taken place but went bad because both sides tried to make war on each other. Werowance and the white men won because of their guns. My sister had snuck away to warn Werowance that our father would try to kill him.

After that we moved far away to a new capitol town. We heard that the English, lead by Werowance, were taking more of our land. Our brother had once again become our enemy. I know this hurt my sister who longed to visit Werowance. But, it was very dangerous. Not long after Weronwance disappeared my sister was told that he had been killed. Seven years later she found out that the English in the fort had lied to her. He was only injured in a powder explosion and had gone to New England. After Werowance left my sister did not make many visits to the English fort. In the meantime a new fort was being built not far away from the original fort. The English named it Henrico.

A year later my sister grew up and became a woman. She married Kocoum and went to live with him in his village. Meanwhile, more English were arriving and setting up new forts. These foreign people had troubles like their brothers before them. Much loss occurred in their camps. People were starving and dying from disease. They had made attempts to leave the land but ended up coming back. For a while Pocahontas did not see Englishmen in her new area. But that all changed when she was captured. My sister had been visiting some Potomac Indians when she was tricked into coming aboard an English ship. She was taken to Henrico and held as a hostage. While there she was taught English and about the white man’s God. They gave her a new name an Christian English name, Rebecca.

A white man that lived near by had seen my sister and fell in love with her. She fell in love with him too. But, what was to come of my sister’s marriage to her Indian husband Kocoum? Eventually there was a wedding. My sister married John Rolfe. My father did not go. My uncle, Chief Opechancanough, and two of my brothers attended the wedding. For a while it seemed that relations between our people and the English were going to be better due to the union.

My sister soon had a baby, Thomas, in the spring of 1614. John, her new husband, was so proud he took the baby and my sister to a new land, England. I hear that she was regarded as a princess and treated like royalty. Their head chief, King James, adored her. But even with all this attention, my sister was lonely at first. She was in a new land with people that did not know her language or culture. While she was in England she revealed her very sacred name, Matoaka , which means, “little snow feather.” She eventually found out that John Smith, “Werowance”, was in England as well. It took him a long while to visit which hurt my sister. But now she had grown accustomed to England and found great comfort with her new friends.

When John Rolfe decided that it was time to sail back to Virginia where our people lived, my sister did not want to go. They boarded the ship and sailed down the river. My sister was not feeling well. She had contracted smallpox. Her husband took her off the ship. She died shortly after. She was only 22. Back in our hometown, my father and our family had not yet heard the news. There was still peace among the English and our people. Eventually my father found out that his favorite daughter was dead, which not only devastated him, but devastated all possible chances of peace. Our people attacked the English. Their homes were burnt, their people killed. This would last for many years.

Eventually the English grew in number and started to overwhelm us. As this happened we had to move farther inland. They English began to break our land and kill our animals. We who thought the land was sacred criedmany tears over their misuse. And if this devastation was bad enough, they began to capture our people and turn them into slaves. Eventually they no longer wanted us as slaves. Instead they wanted us dead because our religion was not theirs (they called us savages). But it got worse. The white man brought disease with them and many of our people died quickly from it!

My father died in 1618. My uncle Opencancanough took his place as the mamantowick. He did not feel the same way toward the English as my father did. He wanted justice. He decided that it was time for our people to take control of the land again and get rid of the English. He planned an attack. Our people would go to the fort pretending to be friendly and then we would kill everyone. The mission would have been successful had Chanco not warned the English of what was to come. Death still occurred for many settlers outside the fort but none inside. The English called this The Great Massacre of 1622. After that the English had every reason to kill and Indian. And peace was not possible at this time! For the next 10 years destruction continued.

And as I sit here reflecting on my life, I cannot help but wonder what would have happened had my sister not died of the white man’s disease. I think she would have come back and been an ambassador to both people! For only Pocahontas had the intelligence, beauty, and wisdom to make it happen.