Sitting bull was a terrorist. You haven't read your history on the Indians yet, or have the wrong books. I was once a collector of antiquarian books, and you just cannot find better history than when reading the books of the actual times, when "history" was current events. These Indians were trecherous people, with no guiding principles to reign in their human instincts. And they were heartless butchers, routinely slaughtering women and children, asking for everything they recieved in return. They were not one iota different than the Roman Empire barbarians or the women and baby sacrificing Aztecs, both of whom were too base a people to build a real civilization.
The fight over history is usually about what gets put into the books.
I'm sorry, but the history of Indian affairs in this country is a largely shameful one. William Penn showed that it was possible to live peacefully side-by-side if affairs were conducted fairly.
The worst “history books” of all are the ones written by the people of the times................
That, unfortunately, was a two way street in the Indian wars.
These Indians were trecherous people, with no guiding principles to reign in their human instincts.
I assume you got this from your antiquarian books. Did those same books tell you about the soldiers who "routinely slaughtering women and children"? Probably not. A more accurate history requires a little distance from the events. Ask George Bush.
In many cases, true . . . particularly depending on the tribe (i'm thinking specifically of the Comanche).
However, one of the darker spots on my family history is that my GG-Grandfather was with Custer at the Battle of the Washita River (which is becoming better known as the Black Kettle Massacre). The American Indians killed by The Son of the Morning Star and his men that night were almost all children, women, and the elderly.
As for butchering, U.S. Soldiers from that massacre proudly displayed the spoils of war (as did those serving under Chivington at Sand Creek) - minor little things, like tobacco pouches made from the va-jay-jays of American Indian women.
I'd say neither side had clean hands in the Indian Wars.
Ever heard of the Cherokees?