American Indians and European Americans have had a hostile and tumultuous history for many years, and this has led to the decimation of Indian culture and existence of America. European exploration had brought widespread diseases that transformed the American Indians into a post-apocalyptic society as Europeans began to settle in large numbers. Settlers exacerbated the demise of American Indian life by depriving them of their cultural identity through legislative discrimination, relocation, and “civilization.” Nowadays, many American Indians are looking for a way to reclaim their lost cultural identity. Through Monroe's restoration projects, Thomas King proposes in his novel Truth & Bright Water that American Indians can recover and restore their history, culture, and livelihood using European materials such as cast iron, colonial buildings, and painting of landscape. This is important because it shows us that American Indians can reclaim their identity while remaining valuable members of the modern world. One of Monroe's most ambitious restoration projects is the cast-iron bison herd he is erecting on the prairie near the church. The metal buffalo is supposed to represent the once numerous creatures that roamed the American plains. These animals were the basis of the Plains American Indian economy and are of enormous cultural importance to a plethora of Plains tribes. Although North American buffalo have returned after being nearly extinct in the late 19th century, American Indians, who are now mostly confined to semi-sovereign reservations on poor-quality land, have not experienced the benefits of buffalo repopulation. Therefore, this is why King asks Monroe to use a modern method to "bring back" the buffalo... middle of paper... here history can be set by the American Indians precisely with respect to the attempts Europeans to reject their existence. In the novel Truth & Bright Water, author Thomas King suggests that American Indians can reclaim and restore their history and cultural identity using European tools such as cast iron, colonial buildings, and European art. It is important that today the American Indian population is able to adapt to the European environment and at the same time is able to use these influences to strengthen a unique cultural identity. This is because our world has undoubtedly been influenced by European colonization. Civilizations that do not show European influence in their culture are increasingly rare and far between. By using the tools and aspects of European culture to create a unique and distinct Native identity, American Indians can remain a member of the contemporary world.