Who’s that GIRL?

She was a peacemaker between two very different worlds. Celebrations marking the life and death of the Native American princess Pocahontas, who came to be forever associated with Gravesend, reach their peak this week. By Angela Cole

She managed to bridge the gap between the Old and the New World and will be forever remembered in Gravesend, a place far from her home but which became her final resting place.

Next week will mark the 400th anniversary of Pocahontas’ arrival and death in the town. Preparations, including workshops, have been underway for months on Pocahontas 400, a project commemorating the landmark, which brought such an influential young woman to be forever associated with Kent.

The centrepiece of the celebrations will be a huge parade on Tuesday, March 21, when the streets of Gravesend will come to life with hundreds of colourful feathers, held aloft by local schoolchildren and members of community groups. Many have been created at workshops held in the town in the lead-up to the anniversary as part of the project, which received funding from Arts Council England Grants for the Arts. The eye-catching, giant feathers are similar to those decorating Native American headdresses.

The parade will wind its way through the town, starting by St Andrew’s, making its way to St George’s Church, where Pocahontas was buried, passing Town Pier Square, the High Street and Old Town Hall.

Organiser Gravesham council has also commissioned a Peace Tree to be made by Kent artist Jo Dyer, from Animate Arts.

She was asked to create the sculptural tree – complete with a bird perched on top, created by sculptor Stephen Larking – entirely from recycled paper and cardboard, also symbolising the rich industrial heritage of papermaking in Gravesend. The tree also symbolises peace and friendship between Gravesend and Pocahontas’s homeland of Virginia in America.

Jo said: “It is an absolute honour to create an artwork with the community in celebration of Pocahontas and all the communityminded values that she represented. We feel really passionate about bringing people together through our work.” The tree will be unveiled at the parade when one part of the artwork will be handed over to a delegation from Virginia.

Picture: Andy Payton FM4680682 Gemma Myers with Lola and Dougie Myers, seven and 10, making giant feathers for the parade to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of Pocahontas

The plaque for the statue of Princess Pocahontas at St George’s Church