For many years, the portrayal of indigenous people in America has existed in a paradox.
They either are described as “merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions,” as written in Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, or as wholly loving, eco-activists.
Kody Grant, Colonial Williamsburg’s American Indian Initiative lead interpreter, has spent much of his career breaking down that dichotomy and humanizing Native American people through research, historical interpretation and education.
“We sit in these two extremes, so what I hope with a position like a nation builder is to humanize those stories,” Grant said. “We can show representation of Indian people as fathers, mothers, politicians, generals, head women, liaisons, advisors, traders and so on, all the different facets that makes our community function.”
Beginning in the fall, Grant will have the opportunity to further his life’s work as he joins the foundation’s exclusive team of Nation Builders through his portrayal of 18th-century Cherokee war chief Chota Oconostota.
In the mid-18th century, Oconostota was among several Native American dignitaries who regularly visited Virginia’s first capital of Williamsburg. After building his legacy as a decorated war chief, he represented the Cherokee nation during discussions of future relations between his nation and the state.
According to Grant, a Pueblo-Isleta citizen and descendant of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Native Americans were often present at the colonial capital — participating in diplomacy, trade deals and social events.
Despite this known history, recorded by numerous colonial figures including Thomas Jefferson, there has been little representation in the history of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and its interpretations until recently.
In a growing effort to tell the full history of the time, the foundation launched the American Indian Initiative.
The initiative, which began in 2002, focuses on showcasing Native American cultures and history as it pertained to Colonial Williamsburg in the 18th-century through first- and second-person interpretation.
The goal is to offer a different perspective that has not been previously highlighted with the hopes of showcasing the different tribal nations’ interactions in the capital, according to the initiative’s supervisor, Martin Saniga.
“We needed to show that Native people were everywhere in colonial society,” Saniga said. “Unfortunately, for most folks, when they think of Native people during the colonial period, it’s in the backwoods and along the frontier. When they come and they talk to us, they realize just how integrated and how essential Native folks are in continuing the development of the colonies and then the new American government.”
It’s through the initiative that the foundation discovered Grant, who was doing historical and cultural education work at the Oconaluftee Indian Village, a 1750s Cherokee living history museum in Cherokee, North Carolina.
There, while serving as an actor and interpreter, Grant began his journey into both his career and discovering his own history. During one of his travelling tours, he got the call to participate in scripted scenes as a part of the foundation’s Native American interpretations.
Through Grant’s near-decade long career with the foundation, he has helped expand the initiative’s efforts in telling Native American lives, culture and history. The introduction of Oconostota as a Nation Builder will further continue those expansion efforts, Saniga said.
“There’s always the question of ‘Am I the right one to do this or to tell these stories?’ So, the kind of approach that I take is it’s really not me stepping into this role, it’s an extension of the American Indian Initiative,” Grant said. “My hope is that in that growth, there’s also going to be other people who will be able to take a step into the same role and be able to tell their own story.”
As a Nation Builder, Grant joins the ranks of other key interpreters within the foundation who interpret a selective group of people. The program, which was first introduced in 2005, consists of 13 members who portray characters ranging from well-known historical figures as well as the lesser-known Williamsburg residents.
While the foundation plans to begin programming with Grant’s interpretation of Oconostota in the fall, it has taken some time to get there. Although the foundation had long considered introducing a Native American into the Nation Builder program, they were concerned about how they would represent the Native American community.
During the 18th century, there were nearly 600 different nations in the country with their own cultures, customs, languages and interactions with the colonies. By choosing one person, the foundation faced the risk of portraying the Native American community as one faction.
But by choosing to not pick someone, they ran the risk of having little to no representation at all, Ziarko said.
“The idea of representation along with the realization that it is more important to have someone and to tell a true and specific story in the form of Oconostota was a shift in the current administration really having an interest in support of the American Indian Initiative and telling these kinds of stories,” Ziarko said.
For Grant, it is only the beginning.
As long as he is working, he said he is learning. Each day brings new discoveries regarding Oconostota and the role he played in colonial America. While researching a history that was primarily an oral tradition comes with its own difficulties, Grant said he is up for the challenge if it means continuing to highlight Native American people and their stories.
“In learning about these societies from the 18th century, there’s always a little bit more that you can learn or change that will shake up your biases,” Grant said. “It’s important to hear those various stories and the humanity of these communities.”
For more information, visit colonialwilliamsburg.org.
Em Holter, emily.holter@virginiamedia.com, 757-256-6657, @EmHolterNews.