Travis: Avatar? You mean the Smurf movie?

A number of years ago, I wrote an article for NR on presicely the themes you raise. It dealt with species extinction, cannibalism, and much else:

The remarkable diversity of pre-Columbian America is beginning to emerge. Some Indians were noble, others ignoble; some were generous, others greedy; some ate buffalo meat, others had a taste for human flesh. Covering this up is the surest way to deny American Indians their humanity. It turns them into nothing more than totems of identity politics.