Disney does a lot of things well, but presenting history is not one of them.  You can find the majority of their egregious errors when they address the lives of Native Americans of past centuries.  You will likely note the main culprit with which most are familiar, 1995’s Pocahontas.  When presented to somebody with a working knowledge of such events, the film is, I am sorry to say, laughable.  I can only speculate as to why this is done so poorly, though my suspicion is that the executives at the Mouse believe kids do not care about being historically accurate.  It has catchy tunes and cute characters, what more does it need?  Ironically enough, in the preceding year Walt Disney Productions attempted what I guess one could call a more serious attempt at depicting native peoples associated with some of our founding events.  The result was Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale (1994), about the real-life Tisquantum and his Odyssey-like journey back and forth across the Atlantic.  It is a sham, unfortunately, in many respects, and I say this as a Catholic and historian.  Yet, despite being demonstrably wrong, it does point to some wonderful aspects of Catholicism that I will be sure to underscore.

Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale is told as a flashback by the title character (Adam Beach).  It begins with him in his village, called Patuxet, of the Wampanoag (the group is not mentioned in the film, but lucky for you, I know my history), and his marriage to Nakooma (Irene Bedard).  He is settling into his new life when they are visited by an English vessel looking to trade.  One of these visitors, Thomas Dermer (Nathaniel Parker), speaks the local dialect.  Though he is against it, Thomas lures a number of the Patuxet denizens onto the ship with the intent of kidnapping them into slavery, Squanto among them.  Most are able to escape before the boat gets underway, except Squanto.  Instead, he is kept in the hold with Epenow (Eric Schweig), another captive from a neighboring native people.  Once in England, Squanto is put on display and forced to fight a bear for the amusement of paid onlookers.  This was called bear baiting, by the way.  To their astonishment, he begins signing a tune that appears to lull the animal to sleep.  He uses the opportunity to release the beast from its moorings and make his escape.  After evading Sir George’s (Michael Gambon) men, the man in charge of the company that brought Squanto and Epenow to Europe, Squanto heads to sea seemingly intent on rowing to the other side of the Atlantic.  Unsurprisingly, he does not make it, and instead washes ashore.  It is at this point that it gets interesting.  Up until this moment, the story has been wildly inaccurate, though the majority of the people discussed thus far did exist.  Where my Catholic and historian brain had a mental seizure is when Squanto is picked up from the shore by a group of monks from a nearby monastery.  I will discuss this in greater detail later.  Their leader, Brother Daniel (Mandy Patinkin), is the one prodding his fellow religious to give shelter to Squanto.  They do so over the objections of Brother Paul (Donal Donnelly), who says all the racist things you would expect from stereotypical depictions of historical encounters between races, some of which have been uttered already by other characters.  Luckily, Brother Paul is the lone dissenter and they not only give Squanto a place to stay, but heal his wounds, and allow him to leave whenever the newcomer is ready. Because there is no place to go, Squanto ends up living at the monastery for a few years.  During this time, he teaches the intrigued men of the cloth some aspects of his culture, while also learning English and how to live in their community.  Eventually, though, he tells them that he needs to return to his home and family.  Brother Paul is sympathetic, but is not sure what to do.  Meanwhile, Sir George has not (for some reason) given up his desire to find Squanto.  One of Sir George’s cronies spots Brother Daniel and Squanto riding while they are searching the countryside for the fugitive.  When they arrive at the cloister and wreck it, all the monks protest that Squanto is not there, including Brother Paul.  Still unable to locate Squanto, an infuriated Sir George is tricked by Epenow into believing that there is gold back in his native New England.  Greedily, Sir George mounts an expedition to find these riches with Epenow guiding them.  The monastery’s residents hear of this planned trip and decide to try to get Squanto aboard.  Fortunately, Sir George has put the sympathetic Thomas in charge of the ship, and he keeps it close by to give Squanto the time to make his getaway onto the boat.  Once back in North America, Epenow’s people murder the crew of the vessel and burn it, to Squanto’s horror.  Epenow justifies his actions by telling Squanto to travel to his home village and see what has happened to them.  Squanto comes upon an abandoned settlement, its inhabitants dead from European diseases.  He is able to find his father’s belt, and makes himself the new, if last, leader of his people.  If you know your history, you will be expecting the arrival of the Puritans, which comes no too long thereafter.  Epenow has gathered a group of warriors to give the Pilgrims the same greeting he gave those who brought them across the Atlantic.  Before bloodshed can occur, Squanto intervenes, giving an impassioned speech about the need for peace.  It is at this moment that Pequod (Leroy Peltier), Epenow’s son, charges forward intent on battle.  Pequod is wounded for his efforts, and Epenow places responsibility for his treatment on the English, saying that if his offspring dies, so do all the settlers.  Again, knowing the past helps here because Pequod makes a recovery.  The final scene is of that fabled first Thanksgiving, which leads into where the movie begins.

The last thing displayed in Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale before the end credits start rolling is a historical note about how relations between native peoples and the colonists were great for a few years, and then they were not so great, to say the least.  This part is true, in the most basic sense, and it helped that recently I visited the museums where these settlements have been recreated outside of the modern-day city of Plymouth, Massachusetts.  What shocked me about the movie was the inclusion of the monks.  This simply could not have existed at the time it is set.  King Henry VIII confiscated all Church property, especially monasteries, when he created the Church of England, events which predate this story.  There is a throw-away line in the film about their community being illegal under “Protestant Law,” which is just silly.  Yet, let us pretend that this fantasy Disney world is real, something the Mouse is quite good at doing.  From this point of view, one can appreciate the efforts of the monks in a way that closely mirrors Church teaching.  Religious orders, especially those of that period, are bound to take in and assist strangers.  This is what guides Brother Daniel actions towards Squanto. They go a step further in allowing the native person to come and go as he pleases.  You also see this community of men doing many of the things one can reasonably expect, such as studying and working.  Western monasticism preserved much of the culture of the day, so you’re welcome!  This is underscored when Brother Daniel shows Squanto a copy of Homer’s Odyssey.  Sure, it is an obvious metaphor, but it is in line with what these men did.  Speaking of culture, it is also incredible that we see them learning Squanto’s ways, including sports.  The missionaries that the Church sent to North and South America recorded many native mores, which has proved invaluable to researchers today.  Again, you’re welcome!  Finally, it is nice to see them taking their vows seriously, and having it not be made fun of in how they are depicted.  At one point, Squanto asks where all the women are, to which Brother Daniel patiently explains with a smile that such is not their way.  There are more examples that actually do justice to how these people lived then, and many do today, even if their specific order is never mentioned.

Again, the monks are the only surprising part of Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale.  They should not be in the movie, but I am glad they are present.  They are also not a reason to watch the film, unless you somehow found a cut of it that just had their parts.  Otherwise, you can skip this one entirely.