ABSTRACT
The history of Native American relations with the military offers a study in conflict, betrayal, subjugation, and defeat, with only a few isolated examples of friendship, understanding, and cooperation shining through the black mist. From the colonial era to the final wars in the nineteenth century, Native Americans fought valiantly to hold their land, maintain their culture, and retain autonomy, but seldom succeeded. Even when allied with the winning side-as scouts, combatants, auxiliaries, or as neutral observers-the ultimate result was loss. Whites often disparaged Native American culture, believing that the Indians’ traditional teachings and language lacked value. Not until the end of the 1800s with the advent of anthropology was much serious thought given to the culture or the people, with the exception of a few lone figures ahead of their time, who looked beyond contemporary views to understand the power of what was being destroyed or confined to reservations. What possible good could come from these benighted Indian souls, other than their ability on the war trail?
