Yes, I read 'Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee' when it first came out c. 1970 and I was shocked at the injustices that it depicted being meted out to Native Americans in the 19th century. Several years later I saw the film 'Dances With Wolves' about how Kevin Coster bonded with the 'noble' Sioux, at one point tangling with the 'nasty' Pawnee who were beyond redemption because they had acted as mercenaries for the White Man.

The I read a book called 'The Pawnee Indians'(first pub. 1951) by George E. Hyde - an American historian with extensive knowledge of the histories of several Native American tribes.

The Pawnees lived in the valley of the Platte River in what is now Nebraska. They had arrived there centuries before the Sioux and lived in earth lodge villages. Their economy was a mixture of farming and buffalo hunting. In the late 18th century they began to have extensive contact with Europeans and were decimated by European diseases - to which they had no immunity. During this period, and on into the 19th century, the Sioux preyed on them mercilessly. While the Pawnee struggled with disease the Sioux added to their misery by raiding their villages, stealing their horse herds and preventing them from farming and hunting. By the time that the US Cavalry arrived and offered the Pawnee the opportunity to get some revenge they seized on it and signed up as mercenaries.

It wasn't just the White Man who was mean to the indigenous people of North America - the indigenous people were mean to each other!!