"Meriwether Lewis and William Clark sit high in the pantheon of American folk heroes. Even today, Lewis and Clark are viewed as brave adventurers who went where no one had gone before, exploring and conquering the wilderness for the betterment of America.

There is another way to view Lewis and Clark, however, which is nearer to the truth. Lewis and Clark were military officers serving American empire and manifest destiny and they were the vanguard of American policies that ultimately robbed the indigenous peoples of nearly everything they possessed.

Historian Bernard DeVoto stated, "The dispatch of the Lewis and Clark expedition was an act of imperial policy." This imperialism was directed at the Indians who inhabited the Pacific Northwest and the Louisiana Territory.

The expedition was primarily concerned with Indian affairs."

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Robert J. Miller: Lewis & Clark helped rob American Indians (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 1/28)