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Ewers is quick in his essays to
set the record straight regarding the 20th century trend
toward revisionist history. In his opening salvo, he
points out that there are more American Indians alive
today than there were in the mid-1800's and possibly at
any time in their history. Though he readily agrees that
the American Indian was dealt a lousy hand in the annals
of American history, he equally points out that the
"Indian - good, white settler - bad" mantra that
has overwhelmed the teachings of white/Indian relations is
also far from the truth. As he explains at the conclusion
of his first essay, "I do not believe that Custer
died for my sins. Nor do I believe that historians or
anthropologists should try to expiate their sense of guilt
by rewriting history of the American West so as to portray
all Indians as red knights in breechclouts, or all white
as pantalooned devils."
Throughout this series of
splendid essays, you can almost feel yourself sitting in a
lecture hall, hearing Ewers as he delivers his findings.
Because the lectures were given at various times, there is
to some degree, a certain amount of repetitiveness, but it
hardly detracts from this fine collection of work. The
essays themselves have some extent of similarity. For
instance, Chapter 1, "When Red and White Men
Met" covers some of the same ground as found in
Chapter 3, "The Influence of the Fur Trade upon the
Indians of the Northern Plains". But then, you find
essays on totally unrelated matter, such as Chapter 6,
"Symbols of Chiefly Authority in Spanish
Louisiana".
Ewers deftly debunks countless revisionists myths
throughout the book. Not the least of which is the notion
that the white man disrupted some sort of harmonious
utopian coexistence among the red tribes. The reader finds
in elaborate detail, factual evidence to the contrary.
That's not to say that Ewers holds the Indians solely
accountable for their demise, but he does point out, for
example, that very few Indians took advantage of the
opportunity to adapt to changing times and meld into a
sedentary existence of farming or ranching when that
opportunity was clearly available.
This is an outstanding collection of essays and Ewers
expertise on the subject matter is clearly evident from
start to finish. The book concludes with 40 pages of notes
and detailed bibliography providing ready resources for
further study. Of the many books I have read pertaining to
the American Indians, this is certainly one of the most
objectively presented works I've found. A great addition
to your bookshelf.
Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com
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