Anyone who loves creation stories, especially parents who want to share these stories with children, will enjoy this sensitive rendition of the Sioux creation story, beginning with "the rock age." It is simply told, but contains a preface and glossary which are full of information for adults as well.

As a former Director of the Nebraska State Historical Society Mr. Olson had the opportunity to study many documents unpublished before of the Sioux Nation and the wars between them and the United States. So the idea is given : to write a book that could be considered as a supplement to George E. Hyde's basic work, Red Cloud's Folk. The main purpose of this book is to make acquainted the reader with the less known episodes of the life of the great chief while it of course can be used as a comlete biography. It is for everyone who is deeply interested in Native American culture and history.A serious study from a serious historian to serious students.

As the title states, this is not a biography of Red Cloud. It is, instead, the history of his people-the Oglala-as far back as the middle of the 17th century. However, while Hyde's speculation on the early history is probably the most valuable part, the various migrations and splits of the Sioux are a little hard to follow and make for slow going. It is not until he reaches more familiar territory, from about the Grattan Fight on, that the pace picks up.

This work, originally written in the 1930's and updated in the late 50's appears to be very well researched. However it has it's flaws. Hyde has difficulty overcoming a certain cultural bias, and he has a habit of picking and choosing the information that most supports his point of view. For example, time and again, he laments the poor memory of Indians when it comes to relating their own history, and belittles them for mythologizing certain events at the expense of accuracy. However he insists that it was the Crazy Horse village which J.J. Reynolds attacked and destroyed on the Powder in 1876, and not a Cheyenne village as the Indians of the time asserted, and as is now widely accepted by historians. And in this case he bases his theory on the accounts of certain Indians who said that they saw Crazy Horse fleeing up the bluffs with a small child on his back. The notion of course is rediculous. Crazy Horse's own daughter had died by then, and the idea that the great war chief could come up with nothing better to do during an attack than pick up stray children makes no sense.

Hyde also asserts without doubt, that Crazy Horse, in his last days was planning to break out of the Red Cloud agency with his band, and was not simply escaping to Spotted Tail for sanctuary from his enemies. While this may be true, he has absolutely no evidence to base it on. Having said this, Hyde's habit of pronouncing opposing views as "blatantly absurd" is somewhat refreshing, and keeps the narrative more interesting.

Anyone who studies the Plains Indians must add this to their library, however, they should keep in mind, that it represents only one point of view.

Hyde's chronicle begins with the surrender of the Sioux to the U. S. government, and the beginning of the "noble experiment" of transforming Native Americans into Neo-Europeans (by making them farmers, for example). The book ends with the tragedy of the Wounded Knee massacre, and can be read as an analysis of all the factors leading up to that incident, which revealed the failure of said experiment.

Hyde recounts the many factors which led to the resumption of hostilities between a small minority of Sioux and the U. S. Army. the author clearly has favorite villains on both sides: from religious philanthropists on the East coast, who had never met a live Sioux in his native habitat, to Sitting Bull who went about caching firearms, to the corrupt politicians who replaced relatively knowledgeable Indian agents with inexperienced political cronies. Hyde paints the portrait of all of these actors and more with verve and detail.

Missing from Hyde's account is any in-depth analysis of Sioux culture that would allow us to understand the appeal of the Ghost Dance. Instead, Hyde's account posits that Sioux and white are motivated by the same factors: greed, political infighting, fear, hatred, and hunger. But Hyde's focus on action and decision, his love of detail, and his sardonic style make for gripping and informative reading. Recommended for anyone interested in frontier history or in the fraught relationship between whites and Native Americans.

This is a good reference book for anyone studying the Sioux Uprising (Dakota War) of 1862.

Mr Nix was one of the settlers from a small town in Minnesota called New Ulm. Mr. Nix and other New Ulmers succesfully defended their city against two separate Indian attacks during the height of this war (he was shot twice, but survived.)

The English portion of this book was translated from the original German document written in the late 1800's, so the verbage is a little dated. The author still had strong prejudices against the Native Americans when he wrote this testimonial, and frequently refers to them as "Red Devils" and "Red Scoundrels." This book is hardly objective.

This is a good glimpse at one man's viewpoint of the war, but should be examined as just that, one man's viewpoint.

I found this book at an Indian Store in Escondido, California while attending a Pow Wow there in May 2000.

I have been a follower of Red Cloud for over twenty years now and feel a great affinity for the Sioux Indians for some reason.

My previous thoughts about what is was like to be a Sioux member were badly mistaken. This book takes the time to lay out the fundamental aspects of this tribe's, history, land movements, and cultural elements.

The cultural elements include their beliefs and are quite profound. Descriptions are given to how an individual is treated as an infant, young child, young adult, and adult. The distinctions between male and female roles are explained fully.

By the reading and absorption of the book's various chapters, I now have a much better appreciation for the difficulties the Sioux population experienced preceding the 20th Century.

Anyone who truly desires to understand one of the most powerful Plains Indians tribes should read this book.

Mrs. Eastman should be considered a pioneer in more ways than one. She was one of the first educators to teach in the Dakota territory. Mrs. Eastman advocated day schools which allowed the native children to remain with their families (a concept which was strongly discouraged by the church boarding schools of the time), she took the time to learn the D/Lakota language and conversed in it, and she lived within the community (as opposed setting herself against it). Mrs. Eastman worked many years while she was a single person (which was quite unusual). She also reported with accuracy what was really occuring on the reservations (often upsetting those in charge-including government and church officials).

Among many things within this book, one can learn about: what works and does not work when teaching individuals whose first language is not English, the Native Americans of the Dakotas, a Feminist before her time, and the account of The Wounded Knee Massacre from someone who tended the few left alive.

This collection is a good primer for someone interested in the folklore of the Sioux Indians. They are a fascinating people and these tales hold great interest. There is a charm that accompanies these stories that will delight readers. One comes to understand and appreciate the Sioux love for nature and animals. These legends will inspire and awe readers. Luther Standing Bear does a great job of capturing the oral pulse of these stories. I was enamored of these stories when I read them as a teenager and they still hit the mark all these years later.

I was put to sleep three times by this book. Those poor natives. They just can't get no justice. This book does provide a new look at what an injustice western civilation has done to native people.

Please disregard the 2 of 5 rating from the sleep deprived person from North Carolina. This 5 out of 5 work of comparative history will keep you turning the pages. It may actually disturb your sleep with its effective demolition of the historiography of American exceptionalism when it comes to imperialism towards indigenous peoples.

More importantly, this is NOT a narrative about the Sioux or the Zulu as "victims." Although many scholars have noted the impact of Western imperial expansion on indigenous peoples throughout the world, it is only recently that historians have begun to employ the ill-defined and problematic methodology of comparative history to understand the similarities and differences of these diverse colonial encounters.

Gump's book integrates two major themes. One theme is that indigenous societies and cultures are dynamic. This means that they are characterized by intentional action and change. Whether the forces of change are internal or external, indigenous societies are not static.

The second theme is that societies and cultures are components of particular times and actual places. There is a dynamic interrelationship between attitudes, values, beliefs, behaviors and the specific circumstances of historic events. Examining two of these 19th century interrelationships provides us with an understanding of the dynamism of indigenous peoples' cultural adaptation and resilience. The Sioux and the Zulu were as involved in the historical process of change over time as any other people. In spite of their economic and cultural marginalization, adjusting to these circumstances did not necessarily diminish their cultural values.

For a good introduction to the comparative frontier history of the United States and South Africa see Leonard Thompson and Howard Lamar's chapter, "Comparative Frontier History" in their book, The Frontier in History: North America and South Africa Compared, (Yale University Press, 1981), 3-13.

For a comparative study in race relations consult George M. Frederickson's book, White Supremacy: A Comparative Study in American and South African History,(Oxford University Press, 1981).

The author has done a great disservice to all First Nation people as she has taken children's names from a grave yard and basically "spun yarns" about their lives. I have talked first hand with people from the Blackfoot Nation and they talked about what happened to their parents in boarding schools. It was not the "sugar coating" that Ms. Rinaldi speaks of at all. Many of the problems that First Nation people have may be traced back to forcing children to attend boarding school, such as poor parenting skills, by not having any examples of parents to follow while growing up.

The White people treated the First Nation people with disrespect toward their culture, language, religion, and music. You could say history repeated itself with how the Whites treated all others different than themselves.

When you read this book, make sure that you take this into account.

I thought this book was sad but informed me of some of the stuff that was going on back then. I really enjoyed reading the book. Some of the writing in the book is very sad and emotional but other writing is happy and cheerful.
The main character is Nannie Little Rose. She is head strong ,but loves learning. She is a sioux indain and was sent to a school ,to learn the English ways, by her dad.
This book is about a young girl in America. She goes through hard stuff but always makes it though. It tells how hard things were back then compared to want we have now. It is mainly about what a tough time Indians had trying to learn the American ways.
I would recommed this book to anyone how every wonders what life was like years ago when Indains sold their land to the white people.

This book is really good. But if you like happy books, don't read it because it almost made me cry.
The book is about an Indian girl who is forced to change all of her ways, and learns many things to make her people proud.