News Flash

Cyndi Spindell Berck, author of Pocahontas and Sacagawea - Interwoven Legacies in American History, will talk about her book as part of the Hampton History Museum's Port Hampton Lecture Series on Monday, July 1 at 7 pm.

So many myths surround Pocahontas and Sacagawea that the fascinating true stories are often obscured. Mysteries about their lives remain even today. For instance, did Pocahontas really save John Smith’s life? Did Sacagawea die young or live a long life?

Pocahontas and Sacagawea brings the legacies of these famous women and their peoples up to the present. This rigorously researched work of nonfiction focuses on the personalities and adventures of the American west. 

Berck weaves the stories of these two Native American heroines with those of their friends, kin, and contemporaries, tracing a slice of American migration from the first permanent English settlement in Jamestown, across the Appalachian Mountains, through the land of the Cherokees, to St. Louis, up the Missouri River, and finally to the Pacific.

“We meet John Smith, Daniel Boone, and William Clark on this journey,” said Mrs. Berck in a recent interview. “We also meet the famous mountain man James Beckwourth, who was a friend of Sacagawea’s son, and a Northern Paiute woman named Sarah Winnemucca, whose family gave its name to a town in Nevada.”

“The nation-building set in motion in Jamestown, and accelerated by Lewis and Clark, led to terrible consequences for American Indians,” Berck added. “Yet, not all of the interactions between whites and Indians were brutal. There appeared to be genuine friendships between Pocahontas and John Smith, and between Sacagawea and William Clark. These cross-cultural relationships are important to understand," the author said in closing. "I see them as hopeful alternatives to the territorial and cultural conflicts so common in our world today.”

About the Author
Cyndi Spindell Berck received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles and Master of Public Policy and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. She is the founder of International Academic Editorial Services of Berkeley California. “I enjoy my editorial work,” said Mrs. Berck, “but history is my intellectual true love.” While researching her book, Pocahontas and Sacagawea: Interwoven Legacies in American History, she canoed up the Missouri, walked along the silent ruts of the Oregon Trail, gazed over the Cumberland Gap, and visited the Jamestown settlement. She found inspiration in the hope that she could support those struggling for coexistence today by remembering the remarkable accomplishments of these extraordinary women. Berck was born in New York, grew up in Los Angeles, and now lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband, Peter, and their younger son, Joe.

Hampton History Museum
Admission is free for museum members, $5 for non-members. Pocahontas and Sacagawea - Interwoven Legacies in American History (Commonwealth Books, 2015) is available in the museum gift shop for $19.95. Museum members receive a 10% discount.

The Hampton History Museum is located at 120 Old Hampton Lane in Downtown Hampton. There is free parking in the garage across the street from the museum. For more information call 757-727-1102.