Kit Carson on American Experience

Saw a compelling documentary about the American fronteirsman Kit Carson. Credited to be the man who created the grand and often stereotypical myths of the West, his legend and real life often merged together. What was interesting about his life is that he was the first famous American of European decent that truly embraced the idea of a multi cultural community, way ahead of the fears most White people had about non-Whites at the time. He embraced (and seemed to have been mutually accepted by) the Navajo, Apache, and many other native American nations. He truly straddled cultures at a time when all other Whites wanted to do was to assimilate the Native Americans and the Mexicans to European values. And yet, despite the skills in diplomacy, he seemed to be most at peace when he was out in the wild far away from the clusters of civilization. He also orchestrated the downfall of a few Indian nations with much soul searching on his part. In the sum of all his actions, was he a hero or a villain? A compelling life that I'd like to learn more about. Watch the PBS American Experience program here. Written by Michelle Ferrari. Directed by Stephen Ives.