*snip*
Ahem... If I recall correctly they didn't sell
their land for shiny beads. They were a bunch of drunks sitting on an island that belonged to the neighboring tribe and some foreigners showed up saying that they wish to buy the island. Naturally the drunks played along with them and took the shiny beads.
This is the equivalent of buying the San Fransisco bridge from some bums that were boozing below the bridge. (And then showing up with ships and tanks and fighting off the defending army since everything was perfectly legal and you have a signed contract from "I.C. Wiener" which states that you have bought the bridge.)