““Share the Wealth”?(Indians were “land rich”)”
Well, sort of... but due to archaic federal laws regarding tribal land ownership and inheritance, most Indian land is owned by up to several hundred distantly related tribal members (many of whom don’t know they own any land at all) and you need permission from every single one of them to either buy it or pursue any sort of economic development on it.
I’m sure there’s as many different ways Indians viewed “their lands” as they were tribes. My point was John Wayne was using it as a White Man vs Red Man. Frankly, when it all boils down to “Can you fend what’s yours. If not, it’s not yours for much longer”