In the modern perspective, there is a tendency to romanticize Bear's people, viewing them as timeless and unblemished, embodying an authenticity that feels unattainable today. This idealization serves our need for "Noble Savages," allowing us to escape the complexities of contemporary life. Such comforting images of a pure past can be soothing amidst the chaos of change and loss we experience in our daily lives.
However, the reality I observed as I got to know Bear and his people was starkly different. For two centuries, they had been subjected to relentless change and devastating losses. Their history is marked not by an unchanging existence but by suffering and adaptation, revealing the harsh truths that counter the myth of a blissful, untroubled past.