Pocahontas at the Fair: Crafting Identities at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition

Abstract

In 1907, an international exposition was held to celebrate the three hundredth anniversary of the English settlement at Jamestown,Virginia—and incidentally to celebrate the nation's new status as global power following the Spanish-American War. The Powhatan Indians, the original inhabitants who greeted the Jamestown colonists, were at that time seeking ways to demonstrate that they still existed and to improve their conditions,having been marginalized over three centuries. This article explores the ways in which these performances of identity-construction were intertwined at the exposition.

The Archaeology of Native Societies in the Chesapeake: New Investigations and Interpretations

“…More recently, intensive survey (e.g., Brown and Horning 2006) and excavation (e.g., Busby n.d.; Gallivan et al 2005;Luccketti 1994;McLearan and Mouer 1994) have expanded the available evidence considerably. Excavations at James Fort (Kelso 2006) and the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown's settlement have focused on early encounters between native societies and English colonists in the Chesapeake, while also drawing attention to the contemporary ramifications of early colonial history in the Chesapeake (Gleach 2003;Hantman 2008;Horning 2006a).…”

Museums and memory [electronic resource]

“…3. Previous celebrations have incorporated non-Whites as participants and visitors, but they have not emphasized diversity as a central American value with its beginnings at Jamestown (Gleach 2003).…”

Time's Arrow: Violence and Ethnohistorical Surrealism in the Lost Colony

“…Pocahontas, much beloved by contemporary Virginians, is well suited for this role (and plays a direct counterpoint to her predecessor Virginia Dare). Ironically, at a fair marking the tercentenary of Jamestown, the existence of contemporary indigenous communities was overshadowed in the public eye by the historical associations of the Powhatans and especially Pocahontas (Gleach 2003). Pocahontas remains an oft-claimed ancestor of contemporary Virginians, in part because of the "Pocahontas exception," which removed the taint of miscegenation from otherwise white descendants of the Indian princess.…”