Cowboys And Indians Compare Contrast
COWBOYS AND INDIANS: COMPARE/CONTRAST
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Cowboys and Indians: Compare/Contrast
Hayley Leinstock
Endeavor Charter School
COWBOYS AND INDIANS: COMPARE/CONTRAST
2
The Wild West, otherwise known as the Old West, was a unique period in American history. Pop culture has turned much of the true West into legend. Nowadays, many people perceive the Wild West as told through movies and television shows, but most of what
Hollywood portrays is not quite accurate. The Native Americans as bad guys and outlaws robbing banks are two subjects that appear in many Hollywood productions.
Old Westerns treat Native Americans as if they are the bad guys. In T.V. shows such as
Bonanza, sudden, murderous ambushes could come from anywhere, at any time. Any expedition into "injun" territory came with the warning that a Cowboy better go wellarmed. “When wagon trains saw a raid of Cherokee or Sioux coming, they would "circle the wagons" to form a defense perimeter and to this day, "circle the wagons" is shorthand for "hunker down and fight back” (5
Ridiculous Myths, 2014). Bonanza shows an example of the wagon circle. The group is riding into town and they are attacked by “Indians” and almost all of them were killed or injured.
These images are largely myths created by Hollywood, “Hollywood has never claimed to be historianstheir job is only to entertain”(Personal interview, 2014). Skirmishes between
Native Americans and the typical American settler trundling along in his covered wagon hardly ever happened (United States, 2015). Of the hundreds of thousands of pioneers who willingly trudged all the way through Nebraska or Oklahoma, only a few hundred died in clashes with
Native Americans. These fights only occurred either because of trespassing, stealing cattle or disgracing the Indians culture (Cowboys,2014). To put that number in perspective, the total number of pioneer deaths on the Oregon Trail from all causes
1
Cowboys and Indians: Compare/Contrast
Hayley Leinstock
Endeavor Charter School
COWBOYS AND INDIANS: COMPARE/CONTRAST
2
The Wild West, otherwise known as the Old West, was a unique period in American history. Pop culture has turned much of the true West into legend. Nowadays, many people perceive the Wild West as told through movies and television shows, but most of what
Hollywood portrays is not quite accurate. The Native Americans as bad guys and outlaws robbing banks are two subjects that appear in many Hollywood productions.
Old Westerns treat Native Americans as if they are the bad guys. In T.V. shows such as
Bonanza, sudden, murderous ambushes could come from anywhere, at any time. Any expedition into "injun" territory came with the warning that a Cowboy better go wellarmed. “When wagon trains saw a raid of Cherokee or Sioux coming, they would "circle the wagons" to form a defense perimeter and to this day, "circle the wagons" is shorthand for "hunker down and fight back” (5
Ridiculous Myths, 2014). Bonanza shows an example of the wagon circle. The group is riding into town and they are attacked by “Indians” and almost all of them were killed or injured.
These images are largely myths created by Hollywood, “Hollywood has never claimed to be historianstheir job is only to entertain”(Personal interview, 2014). Skirmishes between
Native Americans and the typical American settler trundling along in his covered wagon hardly ever happened (United States, 2015). Of the hundreds of thousands of pioneers who willingly trudged all the way through Nebraska or Oklahoma, only a few hundred died in clashes with
Native Americans. These fights only occurred either because of trespassing, stealing cattle or disgracing the Indians culture (Cowboys,2014). To put that number in perspective, the total number of pioneer deaths on the Oregon Trail from all causes
References: "5 Ridiculous Myths Everyone Believes About the Wild West." Cracked.com. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. . [Personal interview]. (2014, 12). City Of Beebe. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://www.beebeark.org/ Cowboys. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://www.history.com/topics/cowboys United States. National Park Service. (2015, January 11). Yellowstone Bison. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/bison.htm Muscogee (Creek) Nation History. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2015, from