Navaho code talkers are
Native American war heroes who
helped win World War II by transmitting
spoken messages in a code
based on their native language. At
a recent event to celebrate the code
talkers, Donald Trump referred to
Senator Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas,”
as he has many times in
the past. To the war heroes, he said,
“You were here a long time before
any of us were here. Although we
have a representative in Congress
who they say was here a long time
ago. They call her ‘Pocahontas.’”

of the “Pocahontas” nickname,
calling it a racial slur.
Aside from Warren,
Trump’s superfluous comment
offended many veterans, as well
as those in the Native American
community. In rebuttal, Press Secretary
Sanders defended Trump,
saying: “I think what most people
find offensive is Senator Warren’s
lying about her heritage to advance
her career.” Through this, Sanders
revealed the Trump administration’s
intention of insulting Senator
Warren for identifying as Native
American in order to get into

college, questioning the legitimacy
of her claims. By calling her
“Pocahontas,” Trump meant to
undermine Warren’s intelligence
and professional standing because
Pocahontas has always been an
object of fantasy, according to the
Disney narrative.
Most Americans are familiar
with the tale of John Smith and
Pocahontas, a Native American
princess who implores her father
to save the white explorer who
has been captured by her people.
The 1995 Disney film Pocahontas
elaborates on this familiar telling
and is often seen in the U.S. as a
historically accurate portrayal of
Native American culture.
However, as Jacquelyn
Kilpatrick points out in her essay,
“Disney’s ‘Politically Correct’
Pocahontas,” the character of
Pocahontas has been drastically
changed from the original story:
Pocahontas sacrifices herself for
the first white male she sees, her
character is greatly sexualized, and
her age is changed from 12 to 20.
In actuality, Pocahontas was only
a child when she was abducted by
the English, taken away from her
home and culture and subjected to
violence and indignity.
These brutal, traumatic
series’ of events are normalized,
even romanticized, by Disney,
as earlier accounts of Native
Americans are so often done in the
Western media. This stereotype of
the sexualized Native American
culture is dangerous because it
leads to violence and sexual assault
against Native American women.
Because most Americans have not
read the actual historical account of
Smith and Pocahontas, the fabricated
movie serves as a replacement
for Pocahontas’ actual life story.
Western media perpetrates other offensive
stereotypes as well, depicting
Native Americans as savages,
rather than individuals with their
own stories and culture.
When Trump calls Elizabeth
Warren “Pocahontas,” it
should not be taken lightly. By
perpetuating a stereotyped character
meant to embody Native
Americans, it enshrines the blatant
racism and historical inaccuracy
of mainstream accounts of Native
American history. The slur, once
again, attempts to erase Native
American’s real story.