Historically, the treatment of Native Americans has been very problematic, particularly throughout the colonization of the New World. Although during colonization some Europeans took a merciful and sympathetic approach toward Native Americans, their treatment was generally not humane. Not only did Native Americans die at the hands of settlers, but they also died from diseases brought to the new world by explorers to which they had no immunity. In some cases, diseases such as smallpox wiped out entire tribes. Together, the introduction of disease and the actions of European settlers had devastating effects on Native Americans. In 1830, Native Americans were forced to move from the southeastern United States to reservations; a process known as the Indian Removal Act. This movement involved Native Americans making a journey through what was called the Trail of Tears to the reservations. The displacement included, among others, members of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes, and was nicknamed the Trail of Tears because of the devastating effects it had on those who made the journey, often resulting in the deaths of many people because of cold, disease and famine. The Indian Removal Act was a traumatic event for Native Americans because they were forced to leave their homeland even though the land belonged to them. This is problematic because European settlers felt superior to the Native Americans because of the color of their skin and therefore felt that they had the right to take over America even though it was not their land. This resulted in a loss of identity for Native Americans as they not only lost their homeland but also their independence and...... middle of paper ......y Native Americans in Pocahontas as negative caricatures would be politically incorrect . In conclusion, cinema has an intrinsic duty to “provide a face to the faceless […it] creates the life and times that American society has only heard of or researched but never experienced” (“ The Role of Native Americans in Film”, nd) it therefore exerts an influence on the public educated by films. This is particularly relevant when considering representations of race; Disney's portrayal of Native Americans started out as very offensive and problematic with examples such as Peter Pan highlighting all the negative stereotypes. Contrary to this, Pocahontas is a more recent Disney Studios production that represented Native Americans in a much fairer and more just light, showing that Disney Studios has expanded over time to show more accurate and responsible representation..