I didn't know the extent of the boarding schools they forced on indigenous people (and honestly I still don't. I can only read about it, I can't ever get a sense of what they went through), so it was pretty shocking and saddening to read about people who went to these schools who were forced to stop speaking their own language, given a Western/Christian name and treated with horrific abuse who went back home not remembering their real names and unable to speak their own people's language, who then unfortunately grew up projecting the trauma of their youth on their own kids.

Even today, people are trying to normalize the idea that the tribes of folks back then were monstrous savages who used to brutalize one another, and forgetting that the people who came here used to treat each other like utter garbage as well, they just dressed in flashier clothes and had prettier buildings. Europe itself was full of violent conflict as well; it's bizarre to me how people have romanticized it to the point that you barely if ever hear about the constant conflicts and horrific mistreatment of the people. For all their posturing about how great our ancestors were and how scientifically advanced they were, when they came over to America they acted like horrific savages and even their belief in manifest destiny and what they believe it allowed them to do was utterly disgusting.