I later went to college, graduated, and moved to Germany, where I now live and work. Several years ago I discovered the Native American flute and became interested in where it came from. To satisfy my curiosity, I met Native Americans who had grown up in the reservations and listened to their stories. They explained how the “white men” at the time of the Indian Wars grossly eliminated the buffalo, which was their main source of food, clothing and many other things. The “white man” brought blankets infected with smallpox, removed children from their families and forced them to attend Christian schools. They were prohibited from speaking their language and practicing their spiritual traditions. The “white man” made numerous contracts with them, only to then break them again and again, and not in favor of the Native Americans. The areas of the reservations became smaller and smaller and the Native Americans became poorer and poorer. Today there is high unemployment (50-80%), enormous alcohol and drug abuse, a high suicide rate (4x more than the US average), and countless cases of domestic violence. My previous image of proud, brave and fearless warriors was destroyed by the bleak and depressing reality. I was dumbfounded!

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