Have you ever been going about your normal daily routine, just like you do every day, and have done for as long as you can remember and then realized that suddenly, EVERYTHING has changed? Nothing will ever be the same again.
Pocahontas had that experience. Everyday, she would fill her baskets with red berries from the forest trails. She was doing this very thing on a very average morning when suddenly she came upon men at the beach that she had never seen before. They were not her color, they had a boat much bigger than those she had seen. Everything about them was different.
She raced back to the village to excitedly tell her father, the Chief, what she had seen. He was not near as excited as she was and realized that just like in times past, the white man had returned. All of the tribal council agreed that this meant one thing...TROUBLE.
The Indians compromised with John Smith and his people and agreed to share a small piece of land and the hunting rights above the river only. It wasn't long however, before John Smith's men got hungry and greedy and broke the agreement. The punishment was so severe that only one thing could save John Smith... her name was Pocahontas and she defied her father to do the unthinkable.
This variation of the Pocahontas story is illustrated in very kid friendly colors and draws the readers into a story that the average child can understand but not be afraid of. It would be a good book to read to students in the 4th grade to introduce GPS SS4H1 which states that "the student will describe how early Native American cultures developed in North America." SS4H3 which states that "the student will explain the factors that shaped British Colonial America (including Native Americans)" It would also align with SS4H6c which states that students will be able to "Describe the impact of westward expansion on Native Americans."
The GPS standard that we think this story best aligns with is SS4CG4a. This states that students will "explain the necessity of respecting the rights of others and promoting the common good." John Smith and his men agreed to respect the rights of the Native Americans, yet went back on their word and hunted on the Native American's land. This made the Native Americans angry and John Smith had to represent his men and take their punishment. The only thing that saved him, was a Native American woman named Pocahontas. She believed that John Smith really wasn't trying to disrespect the Native Americans and steal from them, so she used "the Right of Claiming" on John Smith. John Smith was now owned by her, but she did it for the common good of both groups of people. They each had plenty to teach the other one and in the end, everyone survived the winter and both groups of people learned to get along.
(Side note: we know that book titles are supposed to be underlined or italicized, but for some reason, our blog format won't allow that change. Here is the book title and author in the correct format. The Adventures of Pocahontas: Indian Princess by W.S. Craig)
