I don't think Native Americans get a bad rap, at least not in public schools; they tend to be praised a lot in the school systems. Anyway, Robert Pirsig has some interesting ideas about this in his book 'Lila' that I'm reading now. He thinks that American culture (specifically USA) is part European and part Native American, and that we can see the Native American influences, which are often overlooked, by contrasting with the European influences. One poignant example he gives is the classic Western movie protagonist, whose cool demeanor, taciturn behavior, sudden violence when provoked, and various other characteristics strongly evoke Native Americans, but we never associate this archetype with Native Americans because it was a subconscious thing and because Native Americans were demonized publicly. He says that this archetype developed from mountain men and pioneers who admired and took after Native Americans, and who then later transferred their behaviors to these Western movie heroes and the like. My recounting of this isn't complete or totally accurate, though, so I would just read the book.
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