The emphasis on Indians taught me zippo about actual Indians. It was mostly a lot of feel- good stuff that left me with the idea that they lived peacefully in harmony with nature until they got diseases and died. It’s hard to respect people that didn’t seem to do much to prevent their own demise, or accomplish much while they were around. ‘Living in Harmony with Nature’ is a PC synonym for primitive.
The reality is that they were pretty much like people everywhere. They invented all kinds of things, they had a big impact on their environment, they fought wars, and they certainly fought us. Once I read a lot of older history books, they became a lot more interesting. And I respect them more. It’s too bad all the interesting stuff was edited out in an attempt to make them look like saints.
