I first wrote this essay as an assignment for a class in my Masters program; The Educational and Cultural Foundations of the Ecological Crisis. It was a life-changing class that pushed my thinking around how and why we are educated in today’s world. The learning I did in that class put me on the path to doing my PhD and I want to thank Dr. Kevin Holohan and my classmates, a couple that I still keep in touch with today, for the insightful community-building and learning we did in that class. I have been struggling to write the past couple of weeks because the state of the world has been very heavy on my heart and mind. Instead of pushing myself to finish the couple other posts I’ve started, and not being proud of what I wrote, I thought I’d share the essay that I wrote 4 years ago that sparked the beginning of the educational journey I’m in now. While the essay is a critique on the movie Pocahontas, it also served as a reflection point for me on the lessons and messages I absorbed as a child about the natural world around me, the history we were taught in schools, and how I wanted to change the way I moved through this life. I share it now, not because I am believe I am an expert in racism, anthropocentrism, or environmentalism (I am decidedly not), but as a reminder that we all have a duty to each other, the land we live on, and the more-than-humans we share the land with to unlearn the messages and lessons we grew up hearing.
“These white men are dangerous!” Chief Powhatan exclaimed halfway through Disney’s 1995 animated film Pocahontas (Gabriel & Goldberg, 1995). This line, a stand out from the movie enjoying a second life in the present internet meme era, is especially telling in a movie that toes the line of calling out the colonizers as dangerous, but does not strongly critique their actions. Instead, Pocahontas tries to paint both the Indigenous people and colonizers as ‘savages’. The term savage, defined as “not domesticated or under human control; lacking the restraints normal to civilized human beings” (Merriam-Webster) has been used to describe Indigenous cultures and people for centuries. The use of the term is in direct correlation with anthropocentric ideas because it equates Indigenous peoples to animals and the natural world. Anthropocentrism is “the centric form of thinking that positions humans at the center and at the top of a hierarchy of all living and nonliving beings” (Martusewicz et al., 2021, p. 101). Anthropocentrism is at the heart of the film, but upon further examination of the film’s theme song “Colors of the Wind”, written by Stephen Schwartz and composed by Alan Menken, one finds that the song actually supports some Earth Democracy ideals. However, the overall theme of the movie would not be considered a good representation of Earth Democracy. Vandana Shiva defines Earth Democracy in her book Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace. She writes, “Earth Democracy evolves from the consciousness that while we are rooted locally we are also connected to the world as a whole, and, in fact, to the entire universe” (2015, p. 5). An Earth Democracy, also called a living democracy, believes in the full participation of all creatures, both more-than-human and human, because “Living democracies are based on the intrinsic worth of all species, all peoples, all cultures; a just and equal sharing of this earth’s vital resources; and sharing the decisions about the use of the earth’s resources” (Shiva, 2005, p. 6). In comparing the theme song of Pocahontas to the full movie, one finds an overall confusing message about anthropocentrism for the youth and adults who have watched it for the last three decades.
When discussing anthropocentrism, one must discuss all the other forms of oppression. One of the major forms of oppression that is given a mixed message, based on neoliberalist viewpoints, is racism or ethnocentrism, which can be described in a couple different ways. For the purpose of this paper, we will define it as a perspective “that examines the ways people of color are defined as inferior within complex socio-cultural processes” (Martusewicz et al., 2021, p. 160.) The opening lines of “Colors of the Wind” are,
“You think I'm an ignorant savage/ And you've been so many places/ I guess it must be so/ But still I cannot see/ If the savage one is me/ How can there be so much that you don't know” (Menken & Schwartz, 1995, stanza 1).
Throughout the movie, Pocahontas and her tribe are called savages more than 30 times (Gabriel & Goldberg, 1995). The use of that term sets up a power dynamic right away for the viewer. They, like all Indigenous peoples in the time of colonization and Manifest Destiny, were defined that way because they were seen “…as barriers to taking possession of the land and its resources deemed necessary for empire building by the European colonizers” (Martusewicz et al., 2021, p. 161). If colonial settlers viewed the Indigenous people they encountered as full human beings with rights to their own land and autonomy, they would not have been able to fulfill their ‘destiny’ to find gold, God, and glory. They used derogatory and racist terms, like savage and heathen, to give Native people animalistic qualities and, in turn, to dehumanize them. This view of racism is important to the idea of anthropocentrism because “in order to successfully inferiorize and subjugate a group of people based on their likeness to animals, we must first have a deeply entrenched belief that animals, and in fact all beings in the natural world, are inferior to humans” (Martusewicz et al., 2021, p. 162).
With the use of those terms throughout the movie, one is able to see how anthropocentrism and racism is at the heart of the film. But the following lines in “Colors of the Wind” are,
“You think the only people who are people/ Are the people who look and think like you/ But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger/ You'll learn things you never knew, you never knew” (Menken & Schwartz, 1995, stanza 3).
These lines encourage empathy and community. Pocahontas is questioning John Smith’s attitude and beliefs towards Indigenous people while encouraging him to learn and grow. This is in contrast to the division and individualism that is discussed, and encouraged, throughout the rest of the film. These ideas are linked to a strong democracy, which is different from the liberal democracy we are accustomed to. A strong democracy “…requires an attitude of inclusion; it requires the development of patience; it requires self-discipline; it requires thought. It requires the ability to see the importance of community and the value of all the individuals that make up that community” (Martusewicz et al., 2021, p. 37). A strong/living/Earth democracy is about embracing every member of the community and valuing their life equally. Pocahontas is encouraging John Smith to think in that way during this song.
She continues to make him think about his beliefs by singing,
“You think you own whatever land you land on/ The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim/ But I know every rock and tree and creature/ Has a life, has a spirit, has a name” (Menken & Schwartz, 1995, stanza 2).
She is describing anthropocentrism and attempting to give John a different perspective on how to live life, one could say an EcoJustice or Earth Democracy perspective. This is in direct contrast to what is occurring in John’s base camp with his fellow colonizers. The character Radcliffe describes the land as “wild and challenging” and “a land that I can claim and tame” (Gabriel & Goldberg, 1995). After landing on the shores of the “New World” the colonizers have immediately started blowing up the land, cutting down trees, and digging for gold. Their disregard for the land and the people who were there already is apparent and not necessarily portrayed in a negative light. It seems almost natural for them to start destroying the land they just ‘found’. This is related to the idea of a logic of domination by thinking that “…the land and creatures within the more-than-human world are at our mercy, objectified as “resources” to be turned into commodities for profit and use” (Martusewicz et al., 2021, p. 49). While the character Radcliffe is painted as the villain, the other colonizers are viewed more sympathetically due to their power imbalance to Radcliffe based on class differences. However, they still are the ones referring to the Indigenous peoples as savages and raping the land.
The song continues to say,
“Come roll in all the riches all around you/ And for once, never wonder what they're worth/ The rainstorm and the river are my brothers/ The heron and the otter are my friends/ And we are all connected to each other/ In a circle, in a hoop that never ends” (Menken & Schwartz, 1995, stanzas 4-5).
Pocahontas wants John and his fellow colonizers to see the Earth as not resources wanting to be exploited, but instead as worthy of their own autonomy and intrinsic worth. These ideals are part of an Earth Democracy and EcoJustice framework “…which insists on exposing the ways social and ecological violence are parallel to and even depend upon each other to keep a logic of domination, and the attending economic and political system, currently ravaging the world, in place” (Martusewicz et al., 2021, p. 66). By telling John to think about how every living thing is interconnected, Pocahontas is encouraging a shift in thinking. While it is unclear how much John’s thinking changes throughout the course of the movie, this song can force the viewer to think more deeply themselves about their relationship with the more-than-human world.
The song wraps up with Pocahontas singing,
“For whether we are white or copper skinned/ We need to sing with all the voices of the mountain/ We need to paint with all the colors of the wind/ You can own the Earth and still/ All you'll own is Earth until/ You can paint with all the colors of the wind” (Menken & Schwartz, 1995, stanzas 8-9).
Her message to John, and the viewers of the film, which is framed by EcoJustice, is contradictory to the rest of the film’s message. The racist depictions of the Indigenous people in the film and the cool approach to how the filmmakers depicted the European colonizers is anthropocentric in its message to the viewer. This confusion to the viewer, especially the intended audience of children, still ultimately encourages anthropocentrism as a natural way of life. The song only takes up a couple of minutes in the film and its EcoJustice message is lost in the ecological and racial violence depicted throughout the rest of the film. Pocahontas is a product of an anthropocentric society that attempts to try and preach that it cares about the environment. The film will continue to make youth and adults question their relationship with Earth while still keeping its own feet planted firmly in anthropocentrism.
While I will not claim to be an expert in Indigenous knowledge and ways of living, I want to share a lesson that I have learned since writing this essay in 2021. In my journey of unlearning anthropocentrism I read Indigenous author and botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass (2020). She shares many important and enlightening lessons around relationships, nature, reciprocity, and knowledge but one I will share with you today are the principles of The Honorable Harvest. It’s an Indigenous approach to living in the world, with our more-than-human and our human friends, based on reciprocity, respect, and sustainability. Read it a couple times and sit with what principle hits you the most today.
“Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life. Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last. Take only what you need.
Take only that which is given.
Never take more than half. Leave some for others. Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken. Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.”
My friends in the United States: One way we can help our more-than-human friends and the beautiful land we live on is to contact our Congress members and tell them to stop the selling off of public lands. Visit this website to learn more.
References
Gabriel, M., Goldberg, E. (Directors). (1995). Pocahontas [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures.
Kimmer, R. W. (2020). Braiding Sweetgrass. Milkweed Editions.
Martusewicz, R. A., Edmundson, J., & Lupinacci, J. (2021). Ecojustice education toward diverse, democratic, and sustainable communities. Routledge.
Menken, A. (Composer) & Schwartz, S. (Lyricist). (1995). Colors of the Wind [Song]. On Pocahontas (soundtrack) [Album]. Walt Disney.
Merriam-Webster. Savage. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved May 28, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/savage
Shiva, V. (2015). Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace. North Atlantic Books.
...But Not With Haste 