In her book North American Indians: A Comprehensive Account, Alice Kehoe appears to give a straightforward account of the history of North America from the point of view of the Native Americans. The textbook covers the periods from when humans first inhabited the North American continent, some fifteen thousand years ago, and continues through to the present. Due to the immense size and diversity of the North American continent, the text is written so that each chapter covers a geographical region of the continent. The regions covered range from the rich lands of Mexico, through the eastern and western United States, through the forests of Canada, and concluding at the Arctic Circle. Each chapter covers the region's history, people, culture, ways of life, and the circumstance that caused its cultural identity to collapse. The book culminates with chapters on the trials and tribulations that the Native American nations will face as they enter into the twenty-first century and a chapter on how anthropologists view American Indians. The author emphasizes several key points and occurrences in the history of the natives of North America and their impact on the I

Unfortunately, this period of greatness did not last. In 1521 A.D. the Spanish conquered the last great Mexican Nation of the Aztecs. The Spanish incursion changed the Mexican region drastically when it introduced European diseases. These diseases decimated the native populations, resulting in the destruction of their culture under the domination of the Spanish.

The text states that cultural areas exist because groups of peoples are inclined to be more similar to their immediate neighbors than they are to distant groups for two reasons. First, all peoples within a geographical region must adjust their diet, shelter, and other biologically demanded practices to the conditions of that region. Second, people borrow ideas from and adjust to adjacent social groups. Because climate, topography, soils, and the vegetation in an area change over time, cultures must either change of perish. Other factors that can influence populations are migrations, epidemics, and inventions.

This destruction would continue throughout North America into the twentieth century as European and Euro-American settlers continued to encroach upon and took Indian lands.

In order to gain a comprehension of the history and cultures of the people of North America, it is important to understand the relationship between anthropology and the Native Americans. According to the text, anthropology developed as a social science during the peak of imperialism. Governmental support for this type of research was expected to produce information that could be used in the administration of the subjugated peoples. Because of this alliance between anthropologists and government agents, some native groups have accused anthropology of being an instrument of imperialism.

Although current historical references and works now seem to give a fairly accurate portrayal of the injustices done to the Indians, I remember earlier school texts referring to the Indians as primitive savages who were eventually educated and brought the benefits of civilization. I remember reading of the massacres perpetrated by the Indians against the early western settlers, and of how Indians attacked and burned villages during the early colonization of American and the revolutionary war. The books that I read, and movies I watched, usually portrayed the Indians as the bad guys. No reference was ever made to the injustices or atrocities inflicted by the whites. These earlier books and films have not portrayed this part of history accurately.

In another example, during the Indian relocation during the Dawes Act, reservations were broken up into individual allotments of 160 acres per enrolled tribal member, and the excess acreage sold off. Since no provisions were made for later generations, this not only reduced the amount of available land to the Indians, but would eventually lead to overcrowded conditions.

Over the three hundred-year period of white expansion, many of the remaining Native American populations were resettled so they could be easily managed by the various government officials of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Some governments advocated policies of encouraging Indian traditions, while others forced them to become integrated into the dominant communities.

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