Our Hearts Fell to the Ground

Our Hearts Fell to the Ground Questions The history of the Plains Indians and the American West is very interesting. The book Our Hearts Fell to the Ground by Colin G. Calloway really goes in depth on how life was for the Native American people, as well as the progression of the American West. I really felt that the book was a good source of information on the lives of the Native Americans and had an excellent outlook on how they lived their everyday lives. This book possesses many illustrations and documents that have their advantages and disadvantages. It also touches on the subject of how White soldiers really took over the Native American land and why this time was considered “a world in flux.” On pages thirty- three through thirty- five there are many illustrations that the Native Americans used as a sort of short story. There are some that were images of positive events and there were others that were extremely negative. An example of a positive image with a good advantage would have been the image from 1840 to 1841. This was an image of peace. The symbol showed two hands that were different colors and from different tribes. It symbolized that the Dakotas had made peace with the Cheyenne and they had moved past their previous ways. In the book it says “The symbol of peace is the common one of the approaching hands of two persons.”(p.34) I believe that this is an advantage because it really allows people to think highly of the Native American people for choosing peace and does not make them out to look like the savages that the White soldiers thought they were. Another image that had many positives and advantages was the symbol of Gen. Harney making peace with a number of the tribes of the Dakotas. In the symbol it says that they called Gen. Harney “white beard or white mustache” (p.35) This event was extremely significant for the Native Americans because it was a sign of progression for their people. They were finally given an opportunity of peace by