Through Dakota Eyes

This volume brings together an invaluable collection of vivid eyewitness accounts of the Minnesota Indian War of 1862 and its aftermath. Of greatest interest is the fact that all the narratives assembled here come from Dakota mixed-bloods and full-bloods. Speaking from a variety of viewpoints and enmeshed in complex webs of allegiances to Indian, white, and mixed-blood kin, these witnesses testify not only to the terrible casualties they all suffered, but also to the ways in which the events of 1862 tore at the social, cultural, and psychic fabrics of their familial and community lives. This rich contribution to Minnesota and Dakota history is enhanced by careful editing and annotation.Jennifer S. H. Brown, University of WinnipegPraise for Through Dakota Eyes:For anyone interested in Minnesota history, Native-American history, and Civil War history in this forgotten theater of operations. Through Dakota Eyes is an absolute must read. . . . an extremely well-balanced and fascinating book that will take its place at the forefront of Indian Historiography.Civil War NewsAn important look at how the political dynamic of Minnesotas southern Dakota tribes erupted into a brief, futile blood bath. It is also a vital record of the death song of the Dakotas traditional, nomadic way of life.Minnesota DailyAn appreciation for the diversity and complexity of Dakota culture and politics emerges from Through Dakota Eyes. . . . captures some of the human drama, tragedy, and confusion which must have surely characterized all American frontier wars.American Indian Quarterly