It is important to remember that "Cowboys and Indians" is part of the Old West mythology

[edhopper]

because Native Americans were concentrated in the West after being forcibly moved or exterminated in the Eastern States.

[stopdiggin]

1. thank you. nice map.

The 'plains indian' -- horseback raider of Hollywood fame -- was, on top of being largely mythologized, always a very small (and short lived) portion of the Native American story. The vast majority of Native Americans never saw a 'cowboy' -- and vice versa. And, as almost goes without saying, the vast majority of native-white interaction -- did not happen anywhere near the great plains.

[misanthrope]

5. The Lakota/Nakota/Dakota, considered quintessential Plains people,

were originally much closer to the Great Lakes. When displacement began on the Eastern Seaboard, it rippled westward, pushing the Iroquois into conflict with the Lakota/Nakota/Dakota, who moved out to the Great Plains in the 17th century.

[Kid Berwyn]

2. The Trail of Tears

Then the Native Americans got forced from their new homes when oil, gold, uranium, whatever could be extracted and monetized was discovered.

“Manifest Destiny.”

[edhopper]

3. Reservations

were just a euphemism for Concentration Camps.

[Duppers]

4. +100

[Duppers]

6. "Two Accounts of the Trail of Tears"

This is long but truly well-worth the read:

Two Accounts of the Trail of Tears: Wahnenauhi and Private John G. Burnett

https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=1147



My sister wrote:
"The original hand written letter is in the Cherokee Museum in Cherokee NC. John Burnette was George Burnette Johnson's grandfather and [my nephew's] Ben's great great grandfather. What humans do to others is savage and then there's Donald Trump - disgusting."

[JI7]

7. In the book Ramona this happened even in the WEst

In California Native Americans removed from their land including land they got the "modern" way because some white guy wanted it.