Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America

Indigenous Continent tells the story of Native Americans in North America during the time since European contact. It paints a broad picture of all the different indigenous groups and their interaction with the various European groups. Key events in US history only appear in passing, as they are often of minimal importance to the natives. The various tribes had similarities as well as differences. They had adapted to the situations and made treaties, only to have those treaties disrespected by the white settlers when there was a new need for the land. 

Various parts of history are better understood from the context of the indigenous people. Texas had an Indian problem and wanted United States help. The settlers that moved in west of the original 13 colonies had a strong independent streak and would have formed their own countries if they could. However, the land was also occupied by natives, and they needed help. Most large Indian reservations are in the west because settlers had pushed the Indians out of the eastern areas.

There was a time when the indigenous people were treated as "real people". Treaties were made and each party was respected to some extent. However, the Europeans had a very different political system and had difficulty understanding the family-based political structure of the natives. They wanted to "civilize" them to be like Europeans. This seems to be a common theme down to this day. Whatever the dominant culture accepts is assumed to be "the best" and others are encouraged to join this "civilization" regardless of whether they want to or not. Even when natives did assimilate (such as slave-holding Indian plantation owners), they were still not respected. Reconstruction hit the Indians much harder than it hit the white southerners. The interaction of Europeans and the Native Americans has been sad indeed.

Lakota America: A New History of Indigenous Power (The Lamar Series in Western History)

Lakota America narrates the history of the Lokata people from early 15th century until today, with a strong emphasis on the century from the birth of the US in 1776 until the battle of Little Big Horn in 1876. The terminology can get confusing, in part because people were confused in how they identified each other. They were part of the Sioux, but they were also their own. They reinvented themselves to thrive in remote lands as buffalo hunters. They were a fairly strong nation, and may have had their own country if not for the hunger of white America to settle the lands and build the railroads. They defended their rights both with word and dead. Custer's Last Stand was both their crowning achievement and the end of the line. After their grand victory, the government could now use them as the "evil" to fight against. They ended up confined to a reservation like other native groups. Could the colonist have peacefully coexisted with the native groups? Or was the land grab just too appealing. Perhaps things would have been different if disease and guns didn't have such a strong impact. (Ironically, disease actually helped the Lakota as they would often have greater immunity than other tribes.) What allowed the tribes we have today to survive as long as they did?