NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

First Mexicans, then Muslims, now American Indians

Washington Post
11 Jun, 2016 02:31 AM8 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

At a London press conference for his latest documentary, "Where to Invade Next," director Michael Moore discussed the possibility of Donald Trump being the next president of the United States.

It was a bad time for Senator Cory Gardner to be caught in an elevator with a reporter. Donald Trump had just referred to Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as "Pocahontas" - again - and the Republican freshman from Colorado was struggling to figure out how to respond.

"I think people need to be treated with respect, and that's what we've demanded from everyone," he offered.

But was it racist?

Gardner clammed up. He politely referred further questions to his press secretary.

So it went for Republicans on Capitol Hill on Friday, forced to contend with yet another provocative comment by their presumptive presidential nominee - clambering for safety as Trump launched another boundary-pushing attack.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Get used to it," said Republican pollster Whit Ayres, a Trump critic. "This is your life for the next five months."

The furor over Trump's assaults on the impartiality of a Latino judge had just begun to subside when he lobbed two tweets on Friday morning responding to Warren, who had lambasted him as a "thin-skinned, racist bully" in a speech the previous evening.

"Pocahontas is at it again!" Trump wrote in one. "Goofy Elizabeth Warren, one of the least productive US Senators, has a nasty mouth."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"No, seriously - Delete your account," Warren tweeted back. One of the senator's supporters secured Pocahontas.com and redirected it to Warren's campaign site.

The real estate developer has repeatedly invoked the 17th-century Native American figure to refer to Warren, an allusion to controversy about her heritage. The senator has said she grew up amid family stories about her Cherokee lineage, but that account has not been proved.

Trump began going after Warren's claimed ancestry earlier this year, responding to the senator's repeated slams of him as a "loser" and a bully. "Who's that, the Indian?" he said at a March news conference when asked about Warren. "You mean the Indian?"

His swipes at her have intensified as the senator has emerged as one of his fiercest adversaries. On Thursday, she endorsed presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and the two women met privately on Friday.

The latest gibes come amid a weeks-long uproar over Trump's repeated criticism of US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel as biased and unfair because of his Mexican heritage. The claim drew a storm of denunciation, including a strong rebuke from House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wisconsin, who called it "the textbook definition of a racist comment".

By comparison, the response to the Pocahontas remarks have been mixed and in many cases muted - a sign of how jittery GOP leaders are still trying to find their comfort level with his rhetoric.

"Oh, I think it's done in good humour," said Senator Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the organisation charged with electing Republican senators in 2016.

Senator Lindsey O. Graham, R-South Carolina, normally a ferocious Trump foe, was similarly unfazed.

"It's pretty funny, I thought," Graham said. "I think what he said about the judge was racist. When you're talking about a politician, you got to be able to take a joke. . . . If this bothers you, you need to get out of politics."

But others were alarmed.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"He needs to quit using language like that," said Representative Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, a member of the Chickasaw tribe and one of two Native Americans in the House. "It's pejorative, and you know, there's plenty of things that he can disagree with Elizabeth Warren over, this is not something that should, in my opinion, ever enter the conversation . . . It's neither appropriate personally toward her, and frankly, it offends a much larger group of people. So, I wish he would avoid that."

Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, who is up for re-election in a state with one of the highest proportions of Native Americans in the country, also chastised Trump.

"I just don't engage in personal insults - that is a personal insult," he said.

The "Pocahontas" line spurred chatter at former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's ideas summit on Friday in Park City, Utah, where some attendees said they were aghast at Trump's many race-based lines of attack.

Stuart Stevens - the chief strategist on Romney's 2012 presidential bid, who, like Romney, has vowed not to vote for Trump - said the candidate's use of "Pocahontas" to attack Warren was both racist and inappropriate.

"If you said this in a sixth-grade class, the teacher would tell you, 'Don't say this,' " Stevens said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"This is a sick guy, and Americans are not longing for a president who's going to go out and use ethnic slurs against people," he said. "It's amusing in the same way telling dirty jokes around a frat house can get laughs, but most people grow out of that. It's childish."

Romney told CNN on Friday that he was worried Trump's language could lead to "trickle-down racism" in the country.

When asked why he persists in calling Warren "Pocahontas" and what he makes of the alarm it has caused among some Republicans, Trump responded bluntly in a statement Friday: "Because she is a nasty person, a terrible US senator, and it drives her crazy."

"The Republicans should find it offensive that she scammed the system by faking her heritage, not that I am unafraid to point that out," he continued in the statement, which was provided by his spokeswoman, Hope Hicks. "Actually, Goofy Elizabeth, her nickname, is far worse."

Pocahontas is the nickname of the daughter of a Powhatan chief who was kidnapped by the English about 1613. She converted to Christianity and married an Englishman, a union that is credited with bringing a lull to hostilities between the settlers and American Indian tribes. Her story inspired the popular 1995 Disney animated film of the same name, furthering perceptions of Pocahontas as a princess, although historians say much of what has been written about her is a romanticised legend at odds with the hardships she endured.

Stephanie Fryberg, an associate professor of psychology and American Indian studies at the University of Washington, said her studies have found that exposing Native American children to images of Pocahontas lowered their sense of collective self-worth.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Mr Trump's comments reinforce broad stereotypes of Native Americans as Indian chiefs, mascots and princesses, rather than contemporary people who are contributing to society," she said, adding: "He's not using the term in any way to be honorific. He using it to mock her."

Trump has repeatedly rejected the notion that he is playing to racial fears in his campaign. "I am the least-racist person that you've ever encountered," he told the Washington Post on Thursday.

Trump has been accused of peddling Native American stereotypes in the past. In 1993, he created an uproar at a House subcommittee hearing by testifying that "organised crime is rampant" in Indian casinos around the nation. At the time, the developer was fighting the expansion of gambling on tribal lands, a direct threat to his casino empire.

Ditching a seven-page statement he planned to deliver as too "politically correct," Trump claimed that he could keep mobsters out of casinos but that Native Americans would not be able to.

"That an Indian chief is going to tell Joe Killer to please get off his reservation is almost unbelievable to me," he said, prompting objections from lawmakers and indignant scoffs from the audience.

Trump also questioned the legitimacy of the Mashantucket Pequots, who operate the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They don't look like Indians to me," he said. "And they don't look like Indians to Indians."

In 2000, he secretly financed newspaper ads in Upstate New York warning that a casino sought by the St. Regis Mohawk nation would attract criminals and drug users.

This spring, Trump has repeatedly tweeted about Warren's "phony Native American heritage." He tried out the Pocahontas line in a May interview with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who had asked about his feud with Warren. "You mean Pocahontas?" he replied.

He has continued to refer to her as "Pocahontas" on the campaign trail since then. A Cree reporter in North Dakota chastised him for use of the name, declaring, "That's very offensive!"

On Friday, Trump's latest barrage left many Republican leaders squirming.

Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, ignored a question about his use of the name, delivering instead a long explanation about why she had to turn her attention back to a discussion about trade issues.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I'm not going to enter into the daily visitation" of Trump's comments, said Senator Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who warned earlier this week that the real estate mogul has a dwindling amount of time left to elevate the tenor of his campaign.

For his part, Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, said he was withholding judgment. "I haven't seen it," he said of Trump's tweet. "Until I see something, I'm very careful."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Rust removal sparks explosion at US base in Okinawa

09 Jun 08:07 AM
World

Runaway zebra is captured in Tennessee

Premium
World

Nasa's science missions face cuts in Trump's budget plan

09 Jun 04:00 AM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Rust removal sparks explosion at US base in Okinawa

Rust removal sparks explosion at US base in Okinawa

09 Jun 08:07 AM

The explosion occurred while SDF members were assessing unexploded bombs.

Runaway zebra is captured in Tennessee

Runaway zebra is captured in Tennessee

Premium
Nasa's science missions face cuts in Trump's budget plan

Nasa's science missions face cuts in Trump's budget plan

09 Jun 04:00 AM
Premium
Analysis: How Trump's National Guard move fuels LA protests

Analysis: How Trump's National Guard move fuels LA protests

09 Jun 03:31 AM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP