What is the mistaken impression of the American Indians created by most movies?

Most movies have created a mistaken impression of the American Indians. Until recently, Indians have been pictured as noble savages, or cruel warriors, or clever hunters. In many films they have appeared as fierce enemies of the European colonists or as the attackers of the wagons of white families traveling across the plains.
   Hollywood and television did invent these Indians. Some of the films were based on history, though the facts were changed to make a more exciting story. It should be understood, however, that these historical facts related only to certain tribes of Indians, and only to a period less than a century ago.
   Before the Spanish took over New Mexico, the horse was unknown in America. But by the middle of the eighteenth century, there were many horses on the Great Plains. Then tribe after tribe took to them. Finally, horses were used by the tribe, the Sioux, to fight the last and most famous battles with the white man. These Plain Indians have captured the imagination of millions, not only in the United States but the world over. But they are only one group of tribes among hundreds. And their way of life, which depended upon the use of horses, came into being long after the colonization of North America by Europeans began.