Indian Country Reacts to Trump’s ‘Pocahontas’ Comment

At a White House ceremony honoring Navajo veterans of World War II, Donald Trump used the event as an opportunity to once again disparage Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) by calling her “Pocahontas.” Indian Country was not pleased. National Congress of American Indians President Jefferson Keel issued a statement saying, "We regret that the President’s use of the name Pocahontas as a slur to insult a political adversary is overshadowing the true purpose of today’s White House ceremony. Today was about recognizing the remarkable courage and invaluable contributions of our Native code talkers. ... Once again, we call upon the President to refrain from using her name in a way that denigrates her legacy." Dr. J.R. Norwood, General Secretary of the Alliance of Colonial Era Tribes stated that "degrading an American Indian name or historic tribal reference by using it as an insult is making a racial slur, whether knowingly or unknowingly.  The right to determine if it is a slur belongs to those who have been insulted, not the one who made the insult.  The appropriate and mature response when one is made aware of such an insult to an entire race of people is to apologize and to not do it again." Indian Country columnist Ruth Hopkins tweeted that "Pocahontas was a pre-teen who was kidnapped, held hostage & raped by European invaders. Stop using her name as a racial slur & how dare you insult these brave Native men who risked their lives for this country." The event took place during Native American Heritage Month and in front of a portrait of President Andrew Jackson, who signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which resulted in the "Trail of Tears," the mass displacement of Native Americans. See more reactions from Indian Country here.