[drzz]

There are historical facts hard to deny, and the Indian revisionism is ignoring every historical record to show the tribes as eternal victims. I wonder how many bad Indians you’ve recently seen on television. Not one. They all are Good Savages, in touch with Waka Tanka and ready to speak with the buffaloes.

[CommerceComet]

I'll grant you modern media paints a false picture of Native Americans. They were far more war-like than the modern media will admit, particularly the tribes we are discussing here: Cheyenne, Lakota, and Arapaho. There was a reason they sat in the middle of prime buffalo range: they would drive any other tribe away. Their whole culture was based on warfare and men got prestige primarily by being great warriors. They were the authors of many horrific, unprovoked acts, particularly the Dog Soldiers of the Cheyenne in Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado prior to the Battle of the Washita.

However, the white man committed many horrific, unprovoked acts as well. As I said before, there is blood on both their hands. History is messy. Good guys and bad guys aren't always easy to identify. From my admittedly limited readings on the battle, Black Kettle's relationship with the Dog Soldiers isn't that clear. While not completely innocent, it's not clear in my mind that he was completely guilty either.

My earlier statement to you was a caution. I think you might be pushing the pendulum back too far past the center in trying to offset the inaccuracies of the Indian revisionism. As is often the case, the truth is probably someplace in the middle.