How many gruesome stories pertaining to Native Americans are just racist propaganda?
There is a lot of propaganda that served to justify the wholesale massacre, displacement and subjugation of Native Americans in the 19th century. The victor writes the history. Traditions and lifestyles of various native American tribes were ridiculed and exaggerated. Still, many tribes were not peaceful and frequently raided other tribes long before Europeans ever set foot in North America. Some tribes did have rather nasty ways of dealing with enemies (just like every other group – drawing and quartering in England comes to mind). I doubt many people now buy into the portrayal of Native Americans as naked savages.
