My lunch was excellent. I had a great time just looking at the dishes on display, but eventually settled on the mustard greens and acorn squash. Both dishes tasted like they were cooked in my own kitchen, except more flavorful. I love fresh, whole foods and it’s so rare to go out to eat and not worry about whether there are preservatives or fillers in your meal. The Mitsitam Café didn’t disappoint and it was only a five minute walk from my office.
After lunch, I had just enough time to check out a short exhibit on native Chesapeake residents. I especially enjoyed the “Pocahontas Challenge,” an interactive question and answer segment designed to test your knowledge of Pocahontas’ life. Although I only missed two out of twelve questions, it turns out I didn’t know that much about Pocahontas. I thought she served as a guide for early English settlers and knew that she had a special relationship with one, John Smith. I didn’t know she actually married another English settler, John Rolfe. Their marriage helped maintain peace between the English settlers in Virginia and native tribes for a few years. Pocahontas, her husband and their son eventually went to England where she served as a kind of Native American ambassador and even met with royalty. She died on the journey back to the Americas.
History
really doesn’t do the story of Pocahontas justice. To be fair, I may not remember the details of
my history classes that well and perhaps teachers taught a lot more about her
than I can recall. However, even movies
seem to focus more on her relationship with John Smith. I would be interested to learn more about the latter years of her life. Being in an interracial (perhaps political) marriage, assimilating, meeting with royalty...it all sounds fascinating. Perhaps that will be the focus of an exhibit to come.
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