The reason the Wounded Knee Massacre is often considered the “end point” for Native American history is complex, but it mainly focuses on how the indigenous people were seen as enemies or “savages”. These harmful stereotypes are especially prevalent in high school history textbooks because after Wounded Knee, the Natives did not attempt any battles of its scale again, but that did not mean things were over. The biased white savior complex prevailed in the creation of these texts, along with the dream of Manifest Destiny, which led to the Frontier Thesis. As stated in Frederick J. Turner’s “The Significance of the Frontier In American History”, by making it country-wide knowledge that the Natives were still around, it would imply America itself was not growing as a country. The Indigenous people were seen as blocking the West with their primitive ways of life, and had to be permanently sent to reservations, at least at the time Turner wrote the article. The “European product” of America is said by Turner to be modern and developing, implying that the indigenous people’s nations were not counted as a society. Turner says that America has to establish itself as its own entity and not become a laughing stock for other countries, so it needs even lines, not to pander to a people who do not come from it. While Turner’s views are outdated, it becomes clear that a fear of people who look and act different is what is really shining through. Turner uses countries establishing their own identities as an example, and wants farmland to be complete into the West. In turn, many people followed these Frontier ideas, wanting to believe that Americans could live in “peace”. To move on from frontier history and its disastrous practices, we must look to the modern-day reputation America has established for itself, as a diverse and inclusive society. We must stop watching out-of-date movies that portray Native Americans in a negative light, and focus on making our own works that show the truth. Native Americans still remain in our society today, and it’s important to acknowledge that fact by finding a way to coexist and for all humans to be truly created equal. By understanding America doesn’t need to continue to expand and forgiving the Natives for our treatment of them, we can hopefully constitute something where it becomes clear that Native influence never truly went away. Getting rid of stereotypes is a good place to start, but it’s only the beginning. We also need to ensure history is taught accurately, and a big part of that is making room for historic traditions and allowing indigenous people to finally embrace the lost history of their ancestors.