This book is eloquent and a shocking testimony to the genocide practiced by the US government against Native Americans.  It should be required reading.  The US government operated under a rule of political expediency.  They broke promises, made bad deals (for the Indians), and did not treat the Natives as autonomous groups. 

One of the most important observations made in the early pages of this book is the declaration that millions of Native Americans were killed by the diseases Old World explorers brought with them.  The Europeans saw it as a sign from God that they (the Europeans) were in the right and were sent to 'save' the savages.  They felt they had God's approval.  Indians, however, looked at the land as something to live in tune with, not to own or control. American settlers saw the land as something to make productive for their own gain.

I was shocked by the use of "biological warfare" by the British against the Indians in and around the Ohio Valley. The British infected blankets with smallpox and gave them to the Indians at a peace conference.
  
Another interesting tidbit is the Proclamation of 1763 by the British King that gave Indians certain lands in America.  However, the American settlers rejected the decision made by the Crown.

America really has a black eye in relation to the 5 Civilized Tribes who tried to partly assimilate with their white neighbors.  Everything was fine until the whites decided they wanted the lands the Indians called home.  Although the Indians had done just what they were asked to do, they were still punished when "Manifest Destiny" reared its ugly head.

Jefferson, as president, tried to assimilate the Indians into the white culture.  With the election of Andrew Jackson, a new policy became prevalent. He wanted all Indians on far-off reservations.  He espoused a policy of Indian removal, with Indians living in permanent reservations in distant states.    After only 10 years after the Trail of Tears, the permanent reservations given to the Indians were starting to look to be too valuable to be left to the Indians.

I was glad to see that there was mention of the Indians serving on both sides during the Civil War.  Amazon offers an interesting ebook about their service.

The 1887 Dawes Act was another awful deal for the Indians.  The government divided up the Indians' lands into individual plots of land for those Indians who would renounce their tribal membership and live like 'the white man.'  They would have individual property and have a pathway to citizenship.  However, the Indians were poorly equipped for their new lives and sold their lands en masse back to the US government and corporations for pennies on the dollar.  They sold 90 million acres of land and were left with massive poverty.

I visited one of the Indian Boarding Schools the US government created to ethnically cleanse young Indians by taking them away from their families and teaching them the white ways.  It was truly appalling; they cut the Indians' hair and did not allow them to speak their language or follow their religious customs.  The school I visited was unspeakably poor.

The 1890 story of the Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee is appalling.  The fact that 20 American soldiers received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their 'courage and heroism' at the massacre of Wounded Knee must be a travesty to all Native Americans.
 
The conclusion of this book raises some compelling issues about America and its subjugation of some peoples in order to achieve national goals.  It was very interesting reading.   I wish we referred to Indians (as the Canadians do) as the First Nations or First Peoples.  It has a much more inclusive ring to those names. 

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