Why Pocahontas Was My Favorite Disney Princess

It dawned on my just a few months ago.

I was playing with my daughter at my parents’ house and came across my VERY well-loved Pocahontas Barbie, who has amazingly made it to today with all limbs intact, although her hair could use a good blowout.

Photo by Author, 2023. Bedazzled by author approx. 1997. Wardrobe compliments of my daughter.

Here is a picture of me, circa 1996 with my pet raccoon.

Photo taken by my mother.

When Disney’s Pocahontas premiered just after my 8th birthday, I became obsessed. I watched the movie to the point I could recite every line, rewinding the VHS and replaying every song two or three times so I could belt along with the words (anyone?), and begged my mom to let me buy every action figure set, one by one from Pamida until I had finally collected them all. I had the Meeko stuffed raccoon. I created my own Pocahontas costume and drew her arm tattoo on myself countless times.

An important call-out I’d like to make is I understand this film is a gross misrepresentation of the life of the real Pocahontas, and I understand that this causes anger and possibly pain for descendants of the Powhatan tribe. I acknowledge this, and wish the story had a different name and was named after a truly fictional character. This story I share is a reflection of my childhood longing for on screen representation, which was nowhere to be found for me.

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Although I have no Native American family background, I cannot think of another Disney princess that I more closely resemble. Even today with a much more inclusive array of heroines available on the big screen and streaming services, it stunned me to see some of my features reflected upon reexamining my childhood doll. This is unsurprising given the widely accepted historical and archaeological evidence which points to East Asians and Native Americans having common ancestors who migrated to what we today refer to as the Americas from Asia across the land bridge that is now the Bering Strait.

Although I do think the physical resemblance drew me to this Disney character, it was more than that. I identified with the strong heroine who felt torn between two worlds, had to choose between…