The legends of the Wild West still color many people’s impression of the United States of America. Unfortunately, the romanticized Hollywood cowboys and Indians have given a distorted picture of what really happened. Certainly, America’s western expansion was in many ways an epic of courage and endurance. Dogged pioneers opened up new territory and forged a nation from the wilderness. This is the stuff of legends. But there was a dark side to this story. For the Indians it was a sad, bitter tale of misunderstanding, greed and betrayal — and we should know that too.