"In spite of white women's shifting attitudes towards Indians, they retained colonialist outlooks towards all peoples. Women who migrated West carried deeply ingrained images and preconceptions of themselves and racially based ideas of the non-white groups they encountered. In their letters home and in their personal diaries and journals, they perpetuated racial stereotypes, institutions, and practices." "The women also discovered their own resilience in the face of the harsh demands of the West. Although most retained their racist concepts, they came to realize that women need not be passive or fearful in their interactions with Indians." "Riley's sources are the diaries and journals of trail women, settlers, army wives, and missionaries, and popular accounts in newspapers and novels. She has also incorporated the literature in the field published since 1984 and a deeper analyssi of relationships between white women and Indians in westward expansion."--BOOK JACKET.