How you see me
Columbus is thought to be the first one to reach America and he is also the one who gave Native Americans the name of Indians. When Columbus wrote back to his sponsors, he described the people he encountered in the new land and he portrayed them in very negative terms, being described as savages and weak. This description is important because many white settlers believed that had a right to subdue the Native Americans for the simple fact that they perceived them as being inferior.
Throwing stones
The Navahos tried to fight against the Americans who tried to make then leave their lands but in comparison with the soldiers who had guns, the Indians had to resolve to using stones and other items they could gather in the woods to protect themselves. The image of the Indians throwing stones at the soldiers is both a comic image and a tragic one because it shows just how the Indians were at a disadvantage in comparison with the Americans.
Mouths to feed
In the second chapter, General Carleton describes the Navahos as simply being mouths that had to be feed by the US government. Through this image, the General transmitted the idea that in his opinion, the Indians were just a burden for the Americans and that the country would be better off without them.
Scalped children and women
In the fourth chapter, it is described how entire tribes of Indians were forced to relocate at Sand Creek. While initially they had no reason to fear the white settlers near them, it soon became clear that the American soldiers did not wanted to let them live at Sand Creek forever. Under the command of Scott J. Anthony, the Indians at Sand Creek were all killed, from children to women to the elderly. After they were killed, the Americans took it a step further and mutilated the dead bodies, scalping them and disgracing them. the image of the mutilated bodies is important because it shows that the Americans were sometimes more cruel than the Indians and that the assumption that only the Indians engaged in such activities is wrong.
