Native Americans By Dee Brown Summary

The narrative’s topic focuses on the mistreatment of the Native Americans through the investigation of native relations with White Americans. Dee Brown argues that Americans only know the White American histories of the Native Americans. Brown claims that his narrative provides a history of the American West from the perspective of the Native American. While the monograph cites a few primary sources, the majority of Brown’s argument relies on footnotes that cite secondary works. Brown’s use of these sources enables him to provide each chapter with a history of different Native American tribes and their interactions with the United States government. The sources give the credibility of his arguments as Brown uses them to show the mistreatment of the Native Americans in the West. The

Elizabeth A. Fenn’s thesis claims that the Mandan Native Americans only appear in historical narratives through the tribe’s contact with Lewis and Clark. Fenn argues that the Mandan perspective offers an account for the gaps in early American history (Fenn, XV). To support her arguments, Fenn uses secondary sources such as published histories, archaeology reports, and scholarly journals. Also, she also uses several primary sources like George Catlin’s paintings and books Manners, Customs, and Conditions of the North American Indians to support her claims on the Mandan history. The sources provide Fenn’s argument with credibility as she attempts to give an account for the “holes” that exist in early American history (Fenn, XV). An interesting aspect of Fenn’s book is her description of the Mandan Okipa ceremonies. Providing George Catlin’s account of the Okipa ceremonies, Fenn cites several of his paintings of the ritual. Fenn's citing of Catlin’s art illustrated his account of the Mandan ritual that she provides in her