[fladrif]

But, as the author of this article noted before, we don't live in a world shaped by ancient star battling empires. We currently live in a world shaped by our history, and continue to shape our world based on how we understand ourselves and our past. If we distill our past into stereotypes we will forget where we come from and make decisions based off of inaccurate assumptions.

If we see the Native Americans as murdering rapists, how likely are we to give them restitution for the massacres we've inflicted upon them, or begin to provide them social support? And if you don't currently see them as such, how will fiction that impresses on the greater public of its veracity that it isn't so, and that the general impression of their culture is completely fabricated?

Fiction definitely shapes our society and our understanding, and if fiction as popular as this one claims to be realistic there is a responsibility to either confirm or counter it. Yes, storytelling is more important than accuracy, but when you claim the latter you had better prove it.

[dmurray]

If the 19th century Native Americans were a bit rapey or murdery by modern standards, that shouldn't affect how we treat their descendants today.

This argument is bad because it means well-meaning historians feel they need to whitewash the history of Indian tribes as noble savages, just to get the reaction they want today.

[xapata]

Sounds like you didn't read the author's discussion of the brutality of the same peoples.