In chapter 9 of John F. Richards’s, The Unending Frontier, he explains Columbus’s approach to colonizing the region of Hispaniola, including his unethical relations with the natives already living there. While Columbus’s main concerns were most likely furthering the Spanish influence in that region and expanding Spanish territory, his approach towards these goals was far from hospitable. From claiming and distributing land that was not theirs to stripping them of rights and enslaving an innocent community, the Spaniards had no authority to inflict such hardships on the pre-existing lifestyle of the Tatinos. Aside from the physical toll the Spanish inflicted on the Tatinos, their sense of community and cultural livelihood was in complete despair.
This story reminds me of a very different version of colonization illustrated through the movie “Pocahontas.” In the movie, colonizers were portrayed as non-violent people with an interest in upholding and appreciating the native culture upon which they stumbled upon. Since the actual events unfolded quite drastically different, I feel that it is only fair to accurately portray colonizers through media to show their lack of respect towards native societies. While I realize it wasn’t the media’s goal to intentionally misconstrue the narrative of colonization, I feel that it is important to at least acknowledge the inaccuracy of such a fairytale. Embarrassingly, I wasn’t aware of the harsh treatment of natives until learning more about the subject as I grew up in school, but I feel that I could have had a more comprehensive version of the events if Pocuhantus hadn’t portrayed such a false reality. A goal of the modern media should be to educate our society on the unethical trials native people have been burdened with over the years and unfortunately still battle to this day.