The Trump insult that hits home
President Trump insulted Native Americans while celebrating the Navajo “code talkers.” He referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren as the famous woman Pocahontas.
Pocahontas is not just a symbol of contact between the first English settlers and native residents. She was a real person. Her mother is considered by most authorities to have been a Patawomeck woman. The Patawomeck tribe is based in Stafford County, Va., along the Potomac River. (Patawomeck is another spelling of Potomac). It is one of Virginia’s 11 recognized Native American tribes. They also may be the earliest example of genocide by European settlers.
“In July 1666, the General Council of Virginia declared war on the Patawomecks. Most of the men were killed. Most of the women and children, who were not already living in English families, were captured as slaves.” Why? The peaceful Patawomecks lived along the river now called the Potomac. White settlers wanted the land.
My great-great-grandmother, Keziah Paytes Jones, was Patawomeck. And by the way, President Trump, I look no more like a Native American than Warren does.
Lary Jones
Okatie
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This story was originally published December 3, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "The Trump insult that hits home."