The whole story of "contact" between the cultures is fascinating.  Did you know that early US settlers often tried to recapture settlers taken by "Indians" only to find that they didn't want to leave?  Especially women, as European women had never before experienced equality and respect.

There was so much of the European "Enlightenment" based upon the early contact with "natural man."  Locke, Rousseau, Hobbes.  One of the most popular French novels of the 17th century was a supposed recount of a trader's experience with "natives."  (Why can't i remember the name?)

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin