A History of Utah's Native American Indians is a hard read. It is well written, thoroughly documented and wonderfully illustrated with archival photographs, but what makes it hard is seeing through native eyes, hearing through native voices the sad story of conquest that is ours. The first is that no people of importance lived in this area prior to Mormon settlement. Second is that Utah Indians fared better than 'other' Indians outside our state boundaries. The story itself, is not the hardest part of A History . . . to read.
Human cruelty is a perennial and pervasive part of most human history.
The hardest part of these stories is the tone. It is not angry, vindictive, self-pitying, or vengeful. A History of Utah's American Indians is the first step in a dialogue that should have begun some 150 years ago. The story is not finished. Though they represent the most impoverished segment of Great Basin peoples, Indians still exist.