Movement grows to rename Astoria’s Powhatan Democratic Club
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The Powhatan and Pocahontas Democratic Club in Astoria. Photo via Google Maps
By David Brand
A 119-year-old Astoria political club named for two mythologized Native Americans is the subject of a growing name change effort, as institutions across New York City reckon with their use of racist and inappropriate titles and symbols.
The Powhatan and Pocahontas Democratic Club, founded in 1901, initially consisted of two separate organizations, Powhatan for men and Pocahontas for women, before the two merged in the 1990s. Several club members and some Native American rights advocates in New York City say the names are an example of cultural appropriation.
“I wouldn’t think that’s really honoring Native people. Unless there are Native people in the club, it is appropriation,” said American Indian Community House Board Director Rick Chavolla of the Kumeyaay Nation. “It’s not much different than the racist statues and the racist sports team names.”
“It came out of an era when people were going to summer camps named for Native people,” he added, citing the turn-of-the-20th-Century origin of the club name. “People saw this as something of the past and thought we didn’t really exist anymore.”
Chavolla, a former director of New York University’s Center for Multicultural Education and Programs, advises major institutions on issues related to racial equity, justice and decolonization. He said the name change movement provides an opportunity to learn about Native culture and discuss the impact of the title.
“I wouldn’t approach this in anger as much as I would as an educational opportunity,” he said. “I could see a native person coming in leading a discussion with the folks at the club. That is what I hope will happen.”
Members of the club said the name Powhatan honors the native leader who resisted colonial incursions in what is now Virginia in the early 17th Century. Powhatan is also the name of the Algonquian indigenous tribes of what is now Eastern Virginia. The Powhatan tribes could not be reached for this story.
Pocahontas was Powhatan’s daughter. She was kidnapped and forced to marry an English colonist before being transported to England — elements of her story excluded from the Disney cartoon.
American Indian Community House Executive Director Iakowi:he'ne' Oakes, a Mohawk of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, called the names “insulting and exploitative.”
“There is one name that is a tribe and a nation and another is a young teenage girl who was raped, molested and stolen at a young age,” Oakes said.
She said Pocahontas is the original “MMIW,” the acronym for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
The club’s two newly elected leaders, Breeana Mulligan and Antonio Alfonso, say they will listen to the perspective of the Powhatan tribes and of club members as the organization considers a name change. Mulligan and Alfonso took over the club after being elected Democratic district leaders in the June 23 election.
“As the new district leader, my duty is to the general public, and it is critical we have a healthy dialogue with members of the eight Powhatan tribes and the club’s full membership,” Mulligan said. “Right now, I pledge to listen to the Powhatan tribes and the members. We must make every effort to keep this conversation respectful, and I look forward to seeing the committee’s progress.”
Democratic district leaders are elected to unpaid party roles and are tasked with running political clubs and voting on county party decisions. There are four district leaders elected to each of Queens’ 18 Assembly districts, which are divided into A and B sections. Each section features a man and woman district leader for a total of 72.
“My only stance at the moment is the promise I made to Astorians during my campaign for greater engagement, empowerment, and unity,” Alfonso said. “I want to make sure the process is thorough, thoughtful, and doesn’t jump to one conclusion over the other at the expense of including people’s voices.”
“We especially cannot forgo hearing from descendant tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy for the sake of expediency,” he said. “Until we do all that is possible on that end, I don’t think it is right to take a public stance.”
Several club members have advocated for a name change.
Their efforts have gained more traction amid the nationwide movement to remove racist statues and rename institutions that have co-opted Native American names and symbols — or in the case of Washington D.C.’s National Football League team, bore a racist name and logo for decades.
New York City’s Commission on Racial Justice and Reconciliation is considering the image of a Native American man on the city’s official flag and the American Museum of Natural History will remove a statue of former President Theodore Roosevelt on horseback, with an Indigenous man and a Black man walking beneath him.
"If an opportunity arises where we as white folx can do better by our BIPOC communities, we need to listen, learn, and act accordingly,” said Powhatan and Pocahontas Democratic Club member Zachariah Boyer, who was elected district leader in the other section of Astoria on June 23.
“This means recognizing the harm or act of appropriation — even if it was unintentional — and taking appropriate steps to correct it. Renaming a club is a simple action that carries with it an understanding of past wrongs and righting those wrongs."
Councilmember Costa Constantinides, a former club leader who decided not to run for his district leader seat last year, said he supports the “current board's efforts to re-explore a new name for the club.”
“For a century this historic organization has seen some amazing elected and community leaders come through its door. Our building is full of history we should be proud of, including bringing more voices into the Democratic Party,” Constantinides said.
“At the same time, we must reckon with other elements of our past as we have a greater discussion about American history,” he added. “I know those going through this process will find a fair, equitable way to honor this club's history without causing any more pain to our Native American brothers and sisters."
