Jesus And Pocahontas [Hardcover]

Most Americans know the story of Pocahontas, but not the fact that she was a Christian, and the reasons for her dramatic conversion. Pocahontas had a history-altering encounter with Jesus Christ. A key figure was Alexander Whitaker, pioneer Anglican missionary in Virginia, who taught Pocahontas the Christian faith--but is almost totally unknown today. This story of Pocahontas has never fully been told. Or it has been ridiculed. Yet it is true, as this book now documents. In these pages the real Pocahontas comes alive as a flesh-and-blood person with her own thoughts and decisions. This book shows the beauty, the romance, and the tragedy of Pocahontas's short life. It also traces the way the Pocahontas story has been used and misused over the past four hundred years, opening the door to the larger issue of the suppression of native peoples in U.S. history. The real story of Pocahontas presents a timely case study both in the history of missions and the history of America--an investigation of the interplay between gospel, culture, and national mythology. I do not pass out compliments lightly to non-Indian writers who deal with Native American history and culture. In such writings I have seen the worst of paternalism and superiority time and again, but happily, I am very impressed with Howard's work. I think he has a keen understanding of the indigenous and European historical contexts, of mission, and of the nationalistic American myth. This book really speaks to the church and the nation, offering the possibility of a changed worldview. I encourage you to give the Pocahontas story another read from Howard Snyder's perspective; I think you will agree that he has begun a new and important conversation, one in which I wish to participate! --Randy Woodley, Director of Intercultural and Indigenous Studies, George Fox Seminary, Portland, OR In this book, Howard Snyder has succeeded in showing how under the spell of ethnocentrism, Pocahontas (1596-1617) became a natiolsó