An Ignoble History - The Forgotten Americans

One of these days, I very much would like to delve into studies of our Native Americans.  My brief personal studies thus far have only scratched the surface of this people who roamed our fields and forests long before white settlers arrived. 

The book "Mayflower" touched upon how the pilgrim settlers eventually turned against the Indians, who befriended them, yet sought to eliminate the original inhabitants of America.  Were it not for the benevolence and courage of Captain Benjamin Church, there could have been sustained genocide.   I suspect that there are tomes of literature on this topic that would probably sadden, outrage, and perhaps surprise me.

The movie "Wind Talkers" chronicles how the Navajo Indian language was used as code by which to communicate surreptitiously and proved impregnable to the Japanese during WWII's Pacific Campaign.  Navajo Indians were recruited out of their reservations to help their country vanquish the Japanese.  I am very curious as to how these Navajo were treated after the war.  I suspect I know the answer.

Yet, we have had American presidents take other nations to task for "human rights violations" while ignoring our own ignoble history.