Native American Imagery as a Symbol of America

Many images of Native Americans have famously represented America and although other images have come to contribute to our national identity, this image has remained most constant. I find this ironic because throughout our history we spent so much effort in conquering Native American lands and ultimately crushed their culture. Why would something that we have historically destroyed hold such weight in our own identity? Perhaps it is because the Natives were the first beings Europeans encountered upon arriving in the New World. The people here were different than themselves. They wore different (and sometimes less) clothing. They lived within nature as opposed to apart from it or conquering it to shape it in their own fashions. These were the first impressions Europeans got of America. America, as a place, absorbed the seemingly 'wildness' of it's inhabitants thus the image of America reflects that first impression.