The Indian Frontier of the American West, 1846-1890

Utley is a retired Historian of the National Park Service and has written many books on a variety of aspects of history of the American West. This one is a concise study which departs from the soldier-chase-Indian approach that is so typical of other books on this topic. He does not join in the applause and praise of the achievements of the White man, nor does he glorify the Indians. So he must have a rather balanced judgment on events. He has the interesting perception that the growing Indian hostility towards the white man in the half century following the Mexican War was directed less at the white man per se than at the hated reservation system itself. I visited some of the historic sites (Apache Pass, Cochise Stronghold, Little Big Horn etc) and found that self-critical perspective even written on sign boards. But, although a wide variety literature is available, the common credo and documentation is still a little backward and should be adapted to a less patriotic view. This is true for this book. Beyond the dedication to "conquest by kindness", after the kid had already fallen into the well, most of the aims of the Peace Policy in Indian wars times were hardly original. For years reformers and policy makers had called for "concentration" of the Indians on reservations, for their "civilization" through education, Christianity, and agricultural self-support, for a cleansing of the Indian Bureau of corruption and inefficiency, and for replacement of the treaty system with something better suited to the actual status of the Indian. The chief mistake was that too late the white people accepted the Indians as citizens with - at least - the same rights. Too long they were treated as non-humans with no rights at all. No sooner as the last revolting Indians - the Apaches - were pacified, it was detected that they deserved human rights application. But it was too late. It was already in the end of the 19th century. The Indian Frontiers can be seen as essentially closed by 1890. For the Indians, however, the legacy of the frontier period endured through the first three decades of the twentieth century and, in many respects, even beyond. The conquest of the West is seen as an explanation for Americas uniqueness. But is it not more wise to think that the cultural cross-fertilization that occurred first in the frontier zones and later in an America that welcomed and encouraged the cultural, spiritual, political and economic revival of the Indians and increasingly recognized their rich contributions to American life explains the American uniqueness better? "Modern America became...a blend of its immigrant and native heritages."

Utley's works on the conflicts in the American West from prior to the Civil War until the last Apache surrender are all good ones. As a general survey for an understanding of that aspect of the whole period I'd say this is one of the best on the market. Although it lacks a lot in specific detail if your interest involves a particular geography, tribe or time, it provides a good lay view of the era.

This book is written largely from the perspective of the Indians of the American West but Utley does a good job of including insight into why the white man acted the way they did. His conclusion at the end of the book is "Given who these people were (the whites), what they knew, and what they believed, it is difficult to see how they might have behaved differently enough to have brought about a result that would be acceptable today". What struck me throughout the book was how often agreements that were made with the indians were ignored, violated, and broken. The book is well written and easy to read. If you want a good overview of the American West from 1846-1890, this is a must read.