My mom used to sometimes call me Pocahontas when I wore my hair in braids. There was no mal intent, but I guess today it might be seen as incentive.
I grew up as a young girl thinking and believing the Native Americans cared about the earth, the air, and the sky, that they were close to nature, and that they were people who shared and cared. I only had good thoughts about them as a child. This was the case even though I also used terms like “Indian giver,” and we sat “Indian style,” and we sang about Indian boys and girls rolling over and falling out. When I heard Trump say it, it made me think of my mom, from the Bronx, coming up with Pocahontas when a woman was doing something that related herself to Native Americans. The problem is how Trump is using it. The problem is the context in which it is being said.
It’s definitely not the same as the n-word. That word is never ok in my opinion, except in literature. I would even argue I only want to see it in classic literature, or a story about a time in the past when it was used. I know present day some people use, but I really prefer no one put it in their writings now. I don’t believe in cencership by a government, but I would hope authors would self censor.
I think people should stop giving it attention. Or, twist it around. What if a bunch of Native Americans wore t-shirts and held up signs with Warren’s picture that said, “we’re with Pocahontas.” Maybe I’m way off base. Maybe that would encourage Trump’s bad behavior rather than dismantle the offensive nature of it.