Looking back, there was little the tribes could do to prevent the dam from being built. They argues for its placement where it would not bury the falls, but America in the 1950s - emerging from a hot war and entering a cold one -was about progress and patriotism. Dam advocates stressed a need for cheap hydroelectric energy to power the aluminum smelters on the river. Bonneville Power Administration newsreels of the day presented the falls as a nuisance to river commerce and transportation and painted glowing images of the easy life of abundant, cheap electricity. Meanwhile, the Eisenhower administration was nullifying the reservation status of many tribes and school books still depicted Indians as defeated historical footnotes, the bad guys in the B movies generations of kids saw on Saturdays for a quarter. At the same time, bad blood remained between tribes and whites over river access for fishing. Sometimes, the Indians successfully defended their rights in court. As a result, said Charles Hudson, many non-Indian fishermen supported inundating the falls, believing it would end the Indian river fishery. Perhaps it would do to the river what the loss of the buffalo did to the Plains - get rid of food supply, get rid of the Indians. And so, the falls disappeared. After considerable dickering, most members of the four tribes got about $3,750 each for the loss of their fishing place. Some refused the money saying nothing could replace what was lost. Incoming and Outgoing messages protected by Trend Micro PC-cillin program