How people of Native American heritage rewrote Pocahontas to tell the real story
According to Amnesty International, sexual stereotypes continue to be a major factor in violent attacks towards Indigenous women and girls. They are 16 times more likely to be murdered than any other group, and four out of five will experience violence in their lifetime. To fight the stereotype, scriptwriter Lauren DeLeary teamed up with BBDO Canada led by CCO Max Geraldo to create a full-length alternative audio track to Disney's Pocahontas, synced with every syllable on screen. Missing Matoaka collected five D&AD Pencils including a Yellow Pencil in the Radio & Audio and Entertainment categories.
DeLeary explains the emotional toll of the work is something that creatives starting on this type of work should be prepared for. To tell the story as it really happened, DeLeary needed to put part of herself in the writing – a potentially overwhelming experience for any writer. Matoaka’s story had to be authentically told, so once the script was ready, it was voiced by indigenous cast, some of whom had not used their voices to tell a story like this before.
