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The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History With Documents (Bedford Book in History and Culture)
by Theda Perdue (Introduction)

History the way it should be told
Reviewer: Randy Golden from Woodstock, Georgia USA

   Theda Purdue is generally recognized as the pre-eminent Cherokee authority, but Ms Purdue lets the people who lived the events tell the story of the The Cherokee Removal. She, along with Michael Green, who is really more of a Creek Indian expert, uses contemporary letters, essays, and editorials to draw the reader into the plight of the Cherokee.

   For example, in a chapter on United States Policy she uses Lewis Cass' justification of removal, and Andrew Jackson's State of the Union address to illustrate what the mind of the leaders of our country were like at the time of this great tragedy.

   Perdue begins the book with a twenty-plus page introduction that tells the story of their civilization from the first man and woman to the removal from the Cherokee Nation in 1838.

   When Purdue does interject her own opinion, it is well thought out and objective. After a discussion of the terms "Half Breed" and "Quadroon," she states "The concern with blood quantum reflected racist nineteenth-century thinking that linked ancestry and culture." Well said, and on the money...just like this book.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
by Dee Brown

Some of these stories would make great movies.
Reviewer: Linda Linguvic from New York City

   Since its publication in 1970, Dee Brown's well-documented history of American Indians from 1860 to 1990 has sold more than 5 million copies. Mr. Brown quotes from original documents, including translations of the actual words of the Indians as they made their eloquent pleas for justice in the many councils they attended and where they were deceived again and again by white men who robbed them of their land. Even though there's a certain sameness to the outcomes, each tribe had a different experience. The Indians didn't have a concept of ownership of land. To them, it belonged to everybody. As they couldn't read, they didn't know what they were signing, but even when they did understand, it was just a matter of time until new laws took even more land away. And then there were the massacres. I had tears in my eyes while reading about them, especially in the descriptions of the cruelty to women and children. The Indians fought as best as they could, but they were no match for big guns and well-equipped armies. It was an awful time in our history, one of shame for Americans.

   Throughout the book I couldn't help thinking about the real stories it contained that would make great movies. There's the story of the Seneca Indian who took the name Ely Parker and studied to be a lawyer. Because he was an Indian, he was not allowed to practice and so he became an engineer. During the Civil war he was Military Secretary to U.S. Grant. Later, he was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs. How that all played out is a fascinating story. And then there is the story of the Ponca Indian, Standing Bear, who left the reservation in the late 1870s with a small band of people. Because of some helpful white men, his case was argued in the courts. The issue was whether or not an Indian could be considered a "person" and thus be able to live where he chooses. He won his case. But, alas, the outcome was ruled to just apply to his band and not to all Indians. There was often dissention within the tribes themselves. And deception and intrigue. In one case, a chief was bullied by his people into murdering a white man. Later, the very people who had forced him to do this turned him in to be hanged. And then there is the story of the white man married to an Indian and their half-breed children. The children all were able to read and write and there is a lot of documentation about what happened to all of them.

   I just wish that somebody would write these screenplays. Surely they would be better than some of the make-believe hogwash about Indians that we've all seen. It seems they're either depicted as savage villains or subjected to too much political correctness. And talking about political correctness, I'm not sure about whether the term "Native American" is appropriate. As Mr. Brown's book was written in 1970, he referred to them as "Indians". Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" is a well written and worthwhile book. It's upsetting of course, but I am glad for the perspective it gave me. I think it should be required reading in American History classes in high school. Recommended.

Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas (50th Anniversary Edition)
by Mari Sandoz, Stephen B. Oates (Designer)

Recommended
Reviewer: carlenegarrick2 from Anoka, MN United States

   Immerse yourself in the life and mind of the Oglala Lakota with Sandoz's biography of Crazy Horse. In his preface, Steven Oates perhaps best summarized the book in writing "by incorporating the Indian oral tradition into her narrative...Sandoz got closer to the truth of Crazy Horse and his world, and thus to the truth of history, than she could ever have done had she adhered strictly to "facts" taken from the written records of the white people." Although she had been accused by some of putting words in Crazy Horse's mouth with her style and use of oral history, Sandoz was no slouch as a historian. The book was a dozen years in the making and meticulously researched. As I read the story of Crazy Horse, I found myself so captivated by his story, and by Sandoz's retelling of it, that I was somehow hoping to be saved from the inevitable, tragic conclusion to the life of this truly heroic American. Anyone with an interest in American history must read this book.

These Were the Sioux
by Mari Sandoz

Sioux were these by the amazing Mari Sandoz
Reviewer: Natasha Trotskygrad from Moscow

   I can recommend any book on the great tribes of the plains and the mid-west that is written by Mari Sandoz . I should have said that he tells the story as though it were his story .His style and prose transcend the mist of the past and put the reader in ground zero to understand mind and soul of the historical events ,legends and bit players of North American indian history and heritage. That's enough of my fillabuster; read his books on the Great Tribes and Peoples .

The Buffalo Hunters: The Story of the Hide Men
by Mari Sandoz

History at its finest
Reviewer: Alan Simkin from Ellicott City, Maryland

   This is quite simply one of the very best history books that I have ever read. It is detailed without being wordy, exceptionally well written, and paints a vivid picture of what is was like to make a living following the great herds. If you want to read one book about the buffalo hunters, this is it.
 

Cheyenne Autumn
by Mari Sandoz

Another powerfully moving story
Reviewer: An Amazon.com Customer

   I have tried to analyze how it is that Sandoz manages to take a story, the mere facts of which I have read many times, and make it so powerfully moving that you find it haunting you long after the book is finished. Besides her expert ability to write in the language of her subjects, she develops all characters to their fullest. We follow them through their every day lives, through their hopes and fears, and most of all through their relationships to each other, until we feel we have become a part of it all. When lives end, usually tragically, we not only feel the loss ourselves, but we grieve for the pain of those left behind. When I read Sandoz's biography of Crazy Horse, I felt each loss he felt, from the death of his brother, to the agony of the decision to bring his followers into the agency. In this book, when the Cheyenne died in their last stand, I felt as their survivors must have felt, both grieved at the loss, but proud that they had died fighting in the tradition of their people, Also, once again as with Crazy Horse, I felt, as no simple telling of the facts could get across, what a great mistake it was not to let these cultures survive, and how foolish and arrogant the whites were to spend lives, money and ammunition to keep a few hundred impoverished people from returning to their homeland.

The Lance and the Shield
by Robert Utley

Powerful and Moving Portrait of The Lakota Leader
Reviewer: Scott from San Francisco, California

   One of the best written biographies I have ever read, and certainly one of the best ever written about any of the central figures of the Indian wars of the late 19th century. I plan on picking up a copy of Mr. Utley's biography of Custer, as well.

   This book is a moving, and sympathetic portrait of a man who fought an impossible war against the forces of manifest destiny that were set against his people. I felt I really got to know Sitting Bull as a man, and as a leader. His spirit of resistance is unquestionably admirable. This is a must read for anyone who wishes to understand just how much was lost by the Lakota, and the Indian people, in the rush of white's towards the "frontier". The spirit of the Lakota leader is on par with any of the great "white" heroes of western european history. Sitting Bull is perhaps, along with Crazy Horse and Chief Joseph, one of the greatest leaders, and Americans, that this country ever produced. Mr. Utley's portrait of him paints his life's picture with pretty vivid colors, and textures. The tragic circumstances of his last years, and his death, are heartbreaking. Definitely worth the read if you love the American West, and the American Indian people.

A Sorrow in Our Hearts: The Life of Tecumseh
by Allan Eckert

A Masterpiece of Algonquin Historical Writing
Reviewer: Evan Pritchard from Woodstock, NY United States

   Eckert's A Sorrow in Our Hearts is nothing short of a masterpiece, and will assuredly stand the test of time, perhaps as no other "Native American" history book before it. I have read many hundreds of books on Algonquin history, and nothing I have seen comes close to A Sorrow In Our Hearts in being fair to the individuals involved. Eckert's portrayal of Tunskwatawa as a misguided opportunist may irritate some, but it holds together as the most credible explanation of how things turned out. I turn to this volume over and over again and it never ceases to amaze me the amount of useful information that it contains.

    It maintains a high level of historical accuracy without losing the mystical feeling of standing in Tecumseh's presence, seeing the world through his eyes, and the bracing sense of strength, courage and upliftment that those around him must have felt. If there were a sixth star to award this book, I would not hesitate to add it to my review.
   I have stood by that battlefield where he died and heard the accounts of his demise and burial from a descendant of those who were there and I sense the greatness of the man, and somehow Eckert has managed to do him justice through a medium that is not always compatible with the Algonquin way, and it makes me feel that sorrow to which he refers. We all must die sooner or later, but Tecumseh was still a young man (younger than I am now) when he died at the battle of the Thames. When I am buried, let them lay me to rest with only a well worn copy of Eckert's A Sorrow In Our Hearts in my hands.

Evan Pritchard
Professor of Native American History, Marist College

Tecumseh: A Life
by John Sugden, Henry Holt

A well balanced and thoroughly researched life and times
Reviewer: A reader from Cincinnati, Ohio USA

   John Sugden's "Tecumseh" is more than a well researched biography of the great Indian chief; it is also a moving story of the clash of cultures in the Old Northwest in the late 18th and early 19th century. At no time are the Indians portrayed as the "gentle children of nature" oppressed by the wicked white man...a portrayal that has become all too common in our era where history is too often written from the viewpoint of the underclass. Instead, the Indians are portrayed as human beings ( at times noble and at times savage ) struggling to survive the whirlwind of the white world that was destroying their way of life.

Tecumseh's life and character are well documented and his dream of an Indian confederacy, united to resist the American seizure of Indian land, is the centerpiece of the book. Other Indian leaders, as well as Tecumseh's brother The Prophet, figure in the narrative, as do the different approaches the various tribes took in dealing with the Big Knives. An understanding of Tecumseh's life is not the only reward derived from a reading of this book. One also comes away with a much deeper understanding of the divisions within the Indian world and the various problems they faced within a way of life on the road to extinction. At the end, one senses the true depth of the tragedy, and gains an admiration for a man of great character and nobility, who gave of all his energy, in an attempt to save his people and their way of life.

Black Hills, White Justice: The Sioux Nation Versus the United States, 1775 to the Present
by Edward Lazarus

Good overview with a tilt
Reviewer: James Stripes from Deer Park, WA United States

   This book offers good historical narrative, but also justifies the actions of the author's father. It lacks balance in its perspectives.

   The author's father, Arthur Lazarus, was one of the principle attorney's who won the largest, longest running Indian land claims case in US history. In 1980 the US Supreme Court upheld a judgement in favor of the Sioux of $17.1 million plus interest for loss of the Black Hills. However, the check has never been cashed; rather, the judgement money continues to draw interest. The Sioux now reject their legal victory that awarded them "just compensation" for loss of sacred lands, arguing that only restoration of these lands to the Sioux will end the conflict.

   In _Black Hills / White Justice_, Edward Lazarus describes the legal efforts of Oglala attorney Mario Gonzalez (one of the leaders in the land restoration movement) as a Lakota Don Quixote who lacks a sense of reality. This bias affects much of the story that Lazarus tells in this history.

   Never the less, there is no other book that offers a comprehensive overview of the history of US-Sioux relations through more than two centuries. The book is well researched and well written. It is a good primer.

   The story in this book begins as the Sioux begin their rise to dominance on the northern Plains as they acquire horses and guns. The focus then shifts to the interactions of the Sioux with non-Indians from early traders and explorers to government officials, soldiers, settlers, and finally, bureaucrats and lawyers. In the focus on this relationship, the book offers little insight into the internal dynamics of Sioux culture, but it says more about the legal relationships between tribes and the federal government than many other books.

Be sure to check out Native Freedom - Arts, Crafts, and more!

I Will Fight No More Forever: Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce War
by Merrill D. Beal

A Story of How Everything Went Wrong
Reviewer: Jeremy Joseph McKnight from United States

  Written in a vivid way which allows you to follow the flight of the Nez Perce as they struggled to survive, Mr. Beal keeps you reading until the heartbreaking end. This story of how a people were forced into battle, chased by the army and eventually shipped away, shows the errors of our past and adds perspective to the present. Mr. Beal's writing not only presents history, but helps to identify a culture that America tried to destroy within our own boundaries. A must read for anyone interested in the history of the American West.

Fools Crow: Wisdom and Power
by Thomas E Mails
 

A book that opens a door
Reviewer: A reader from Inverness, Fl United States

   The legacy of Fools Crow is his wisdom & power as a Lakota medicine man. The path he walked, as a man called to serve his people & the Great Spirit, is recalled in this book. His simple message is that all of us can be "hollow bones" for the Great Spirit to work through. The reader learns that the power & wisdom of Frank Fools Crow's life was in his detachment from ego and submission to a higher force. Some readers may only be interested in the ceremonies & rituals described in the book. However, the message is the spirit of the man & his commitment to his God & to his people. I can not imagine that any reader can walk away from this book untouched.

American Indian Myths and Legends
by Richard Erdoes, Alfonso Ortiz

A comprehensive and diverse collection of Indian legends
Reviewer: Lawrance M. Bernabo from The Zenith City: Duluth, MN

   "American Indian Myths and Legends" is a collection of 166 stories selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz that represent the heart and soul of the native people of North America. In contrast to the more familiar classical myths of ancient Greece and Roman, the genesis for these stories is much more organic, rising from the animals, plants and herb that made up the every day world of the people who told these tales. These tales also reflect the diversity of the peoples group under the name of American Indians, from the Seneca and Algonquian of the East to the White Mountain Apache and Navajo of the Southwest to the Brule Sioux and Nez Perce of the Plains.

Using an admittedly artificial system of organization, Erdoes and Ortiz present ten sections: (1) Tales of Human Creation; (2) Tales of World Creation; (3) The Eye of the Great Spirit; (4) Monsters and Monster Slayers; (5) War and the Warrior Code; (6) Tales of Love and Lust; (7) Trickster Tales; (8) Stories of Animals and Other People; (9) Ghosts and the Spirit World; and (10) Visions of the End. I have been reading my copy again to consider its inclusion in a Contemporary Mythology class I am toying with teaching, and it certainly offers students an impressive collection of myths and legends in fairly pure form. There is some commentary, but the point here is not to analyze the stories but to preserve them and present them to new readers.

However, teachers at any level who are studying myths can certainly find stories that can be used to create fascinating comparison/contrasts with tales on similar subjects from classical, Celtic, Hindu, African, or any other mythology they can get their hands on for class. I can see an excellent unit being developed just on the various creation myths of both humans and the worlds related in this book, which would provoke students to think about what difference the differences in these stories make in terms of how a people view the world and their place in it.

Note: Many of the stories in this volume were collected by the authors in their extensive field research. Others are classic accounts, which are presented in their original forms, while the rest come from 19th-century sources that have been retold by the authors in an effort to do away with the artificial style typical of the period and restore their authenticity. The result is that there is a wide spectrum of American Indian history and culture covered within these pages.

Encyclopedia of North American Indians  (A GREAT book!)

Crow Dog: Four Generations of Sioux Medicine Men (Highly recommended)

Lakota Woman (Highly recommended)

Black Elk (Multiple Publications- Recommended)

The American Revolution in Indian Country