Youthful inexperience led to a near death encounter that left the author bruised and shaken. But in the aftermath of survival those who have been to the edge and back are left with a difficult question: what is the best way to live?

You don't have to look far in North American culture to find Dead Indians. 'Dead' as in the idea of something that never really existed. From film characters to rodeos and sports teams' mascots—even in how Native leaders represent themselves to the white world—buckskin and a feathered headdress are ever handy signifiers of Indian authenticity. In this excerpt from his new book, The Inconvenient Indian, King surveys the history of the Dead Indian in white culture.