Honoring Pocahontas at Mantle, the Virginia Indian Tribute on Virginia Capitol Square - Photo by Bob Brown / Richmond Times Dispatch
WINGAPO
The Pocahontas Project
Mission & Purpose
The mission of The Pocahontas Project (TPP) is to leverage the power of the life, legend and legacy of the woman called Matoaka, Amonute, Rebecca, but most famously known as Pocahontas, to inspire hope and purposeful action in a growing number of people of all ages around the world, with the goal of affecting a peaceful and sustainable future for all humankind.
TPP’s foundational purpose is enhancing the quality of life for Indigenous, Native and First Nations communities around the world, while benefiting from their ancient wisdom. As it is all connected, TPP is focused on facilitating racial equality and social justice for all, in the name of remembrance, recognition, reconciliation and respect. And since all these efforts are fully dependent on an environmentally sustainable future, TPP is actively promoting and facilitating environmental stewardship in an effort to sustain a positive quality of life on earth.
Pride in Pocahontas
The only image of Pocahontas created in her lifetime, by Simon van de Passe in 1616
TPP believes Pocahontas had an immense impact on the future course of world history, earning her the right to be called the Founding Mother of America.
Her trip to England and death and burial at St. George’s Church in Gravesend convinced the Virginia Company investors to stay their course, laying the foundation for the 13 colonies and then the United States of America. TPP sees Pocahontas as the iconic symbol of the “special relationship” that exists between the United States and the United Kingdom, as she enabled its existence.
TPP views Pocahontas as an inspirational historic icon whose legacy continues to influence the present and the future. TPP promotes Pocahontas as a patron of peace and cross-cultural understanding and embraces the words of 19th century Irish-American author William Watson Waldron:
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“Pocahontas is one of those characters, rarely appearing on the theatre of life, which no age can claim, no country appropriate. She is the property of mankind, serving as a beacon to light us on our way, instruct us in our duty, and show us what the human mind is capable of performing when abandoned to its own operations.”
His Royal Highness Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, assisting Rappahannock Chief Anne Richardson at Syon House, Brentford, England in 2017