Since the first Europeans landed their ships on North American soil, Indians have been a people present in our history. Peaceful beginnings of relations with the Indians soon turned hostile as greed took over the colonists' genuine humanity, eventually causing them to destroy the Indian way of life. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee describes relations between European Americans and Indians from 1492 to 1890 from the perspective of the Indian people. Pilgrims who landed on the Massachusetts coast in 1492 encountered the Wampanog people, marking the introduction of the two ethnic groups. Without the help of the Indians, the Pilgrims would not have survived the winter in their new home. The grateful attitude of the Pilgrims was short-lived as they began to invade Indian land, exploring and conquering. Until the 1860s, settlers continued to violate the Indians. They defeated many tribes including the Wampanog, Five Nations Iroquois, Miami Indians of the Ohio Valley, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Cheeks, and Seminoles. From the 1860s to the 1890s, the destruction and minimization of Indian tribes began to pick up speed and intensity due to Americans' discovery of rich natural resources on Indian Territory and their popular ideal of manifest destiny. Beginning in this thirty-year period in the 1860s, the Navaho tribe led by Chief Manuelito is among the first to feel the pressure of the American Western movement. The Americans steal their natural resources and livestock and soon build Fort Defiance on their land. The angry Indians storm the fort and skirmishes break out between them. The army decides to settle the dispute with a rigged horse race that sent the Navahos to the Bosque Ronodo reservation. After a struggle, ... middle of paper ... Americans fought for power and greed. It is appalling how falsely Indians were portrayed during this time when Americans were savage. The method that Brown uses in writing this book holds the reader's attention and achieves his goal of provoking compassion for the plight of the Indians. By recounting the personal accounts of various tribes affected by the Americans' deception and cruelty that led to a historically horrendous massacre, he creates suspense and sympathy for the Indians. Instead of savages, Indians are portrayed as people, brothers, families plagued by oppression and tragedy. This book is highly recommended to all those who are unaware of the destruction of Indian culture and way of life. While what happened then set the stage for American life today, the treatment of Indians can never truly be justified.