Most Americans know the story of Pocahontas, but not the fact that she was a Christian, and the reasons for her dramatic conversion. Pocahontas had a history-altering encounter with Jesus Christ. A key figure was Alexander Whitaker, pioneer Anglican missionary in Virginia, who taught Pocahontas the Christian faith–but is almost totally unknown today.
This story of Pocahontas has never fully been told. Or it has been ridiculed. Yet it is true, as this book now documents.
In these pages the real Pocahontas comes alive as a flesh-and-blood person with her own thoughts and decisions. This book shows the beauty, the romance, and the tragedy of Pocahontas’s short life. It also traces the way the Pocahontas story has been used and misused over the past four hundred years, opening the door to the larger issue of the suppression of native peoples in U.S. history.
The real story of Pocahontas presents a timely case study both in the history of missions and the history of America–an investigation of the interplay between gospel, culture, and national mythology.
Über den Autor
Rev. Dr. Randy S. Woodley is distinguished professor of faith and culture at Portland Seminary, Portland, Oregon. He and his wife co-sustain Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice and Eloheh Farm & Seeds in Yamhill, Oregon. www.eloheh.org. Randy is an activist/scholar, distinguished teacher and wisdom keeper who addresses a variety of issues concerning American culture, faith/spirituality, justice, race/diversity, regenerative farming, our relationship with the earth and Indigenous realities. His expertise has been sought in national venues such as Time Magazine, The Huffington Post and Christianity Today. Randy was raised near Detroit, Michigan and is a Cherokee descendent recognized by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. His other books include: Becoming Rooted: One Hundred Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth, Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview: A Decolonized Approach to Christian Doctrine, Living in Color: Embracing God’s Passion for Ethnic Diversity, The Harmony Tree: A Story of Healing and Community and Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision.Homebrewed Christianity Podcast Ask an Indigenous Theologian