I would never have read this book had I not been assigned a project dealing with Chief Dull Knife's death march from Indian Territory. I picked it up and got plenty of information about that historical event. Reading on, I discovered a great deal more.
In addition to tracing four generations of Dull Knifes, this book is one of the most comprehensive and attractive histories of the Lakota people ever. It covers almost everything -from the battle of the Little Big Horn to the upsurge of Indian pride following the siege of Wounded Knee. Though I had read bits and pieces about them before, I was able to form a more integrated picture of the Sioux after reading this book. Often suppressed and today among the poorest groups in America, the Lakotas have held onto and passed down the beauty and resilience of their culture- like the Dull Knife who wore a medicine bundle into Vietnam and Sioux women favoring herbs and blossoms over shampoo. This spirit even shows in the narrative's fresh, confident feel.
The book also offers a glimpse at the personality of Dewey Beard, the last survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, who died in 1959 and was a friend of the Dull Knife family.

An engaging story of one family of the Lakota (Sioux) from the time the treaty was signed creating Indian reservations to the present. In each generation one or more of the family members are presented in reasonable detail. See the hopes, challenges, and triumphs of each generation and get to know and love them as they attempt to hold onto important aspects of their native culture while they step into modern life with mixed successes. You'll gain an appreciation of the dedicated military service many Indians have given the U.S., and perhaps you'll twitch uncomfortably or maybe grin at the soldier who collected ears from his battlefield conquests. In total I gained a new respect of the Lakota.

This is a great book! It's well written and very ,very readable.It is ,of course, an Indian perspective but written by a white man. But I believe he does justice to the Lakota and successfully shows what it feels like to be Lakota both past and present. The stories of Guy Dull Knife really show how unprepared and clueless whites were when it came to modernizing the Indian. Looking at the events of the last 100 years through clan Dull Knife eyes, it's so confusing trying to figure out the world of the white man. But the book is not a parade of unhappy experiences.The Dull Knife family has been involved in some truly fastinating chunks of history. For me I found the trek from Oklahoma back to South Dakota to be epic, Dull Knife and Little Wolf were true heroes. Also the personal stories of George Dull Knife working in Bill Cody's Wild West Shows told me things I'd never heard,including a dark side to these shows. You have to read about Lone Bull "working" for a competing company. Lakota soldiers in the Army and in all our wars....just as tough now as they were against Custer. It's a very balanced book,it shows the good and the bad on both sides of Native American history. I think you'll see Indians in a different light after reading the book.