The Black Hills & The Indians

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The Black Hills & The Indians

Martin Luschei

I am always looking for histories of the Black Hills. It doesn't matter what part of Black Hill's history it is looking at. When I saw this book written about the indians and their role in the history of the Black Hills I was especially interested.

Let me start off by saying this book covers a very broad time range; it literally starts with the various tribal movements before the western expansion and runs through to the present day. Only about half of the book is concerned with the time of the plains indian wars. It does present a very interesting perspective on the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868 and the historical indian claims to the Black Hills.

Now in the later half of the book the reader should be ready for a discussion of various indians rights movements and their activities on Pine Ridge and in the Black Hills. The author maintains a fairly objective balance in his telling of this but makes it quite clear where his sentiments are.

I don't know that I would recommend this book to the person strictly interested in either a military history or a history of the settlement of the region. If, on the other hand, you want a grand overview of what happened here from an indian perspective it would serve you well.

The Black Hills & The Indians; Martin Luschei, 2007, Niobrara Press, ISBN-10 1-930401-55-8