The True Story of Pocahontas

For 400 years, her story was told by her captors. Now, it is told by her people.

Behind the romanticized myths of Disney and the colonial accounts of John Smith lies a far more profound and tragic reality. The True Story of Pocahontas is the first written history of the legendary figure provided by the Mattaponi Tribe, one of the core tribes of the Powhatan Chiefdom. Passed down through centuries of sacred oral tradition, this account provides the "other side" of the Jamestown story—the perspective of the Indigenous people who witnessed the arrival of the English.

From her real names, Amonute and Matoaka, to the harrowing details of her abduction and death, Dr. Linwood Custalow and Angela L. Daniel present a powerful reclamation of Pocahontas's life. This is not just a biography; it is a vital act of historical justice that restores the voice of a woman who has been silenced for four centuries.

Dr. Linwood "Little Bear" Custalow was born on the Mattaponi Reservation in West Point, the eldest son of Chief Daniel Webster "Little Eagle" and Mary "White Feather" Custalow. Early in life, he was given the mission of learning the oral history of his tribe and of the Powhatan Nation as passed down by his father and his grandfather.

Angela L. Daniel "Silver Star" has strived to learn and preserve the oral history of the Powhatan people so it can be passed down to future generations. The late Chief Webster "Little Eagle" Custalow honored Daniel by giving her the name "Silver Star." He encouraged her to learn and pass on the oral history of the Mattaponi.