Indian Yell: The Heart of an American Insurgency [Hardcover]

Michael Blake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2006

Grounded in meticulous research and written with an uncanny understanding of the military and of American Indian culture, Blake offers soulful profiles of the participants, both Indian and cavalry. Indian Yell is filled with accounts of harrowing sacrifice and tragic misdeeds of real people-Blake tells of their lives and loves, their bravery, and their shortcomings in a way that lends a new perspective on America's greatest insurgency. Some of the stories are well documented in the annals of history, while others are more abscure. Large or small, Blake weaves them together to show that bitter memories of this war still haunt the American West. These are the struggles that initiated the end of one way of life and the beginning of another; this struggle must not be forgotten.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... a history of the crucial period when Native resistance to White expansion was put to an often brutal end." -- The Arizona Republic

"...brilliantly captured all the pathos and romance, the heroes and villains, and the overwhelming sense of humanity and tragedy..." -- Paul Andrew Hutton

"Blake clearly shows the mistakes and misconduct in each situation which lead to warfare...[he] details battles which altered history." -- Times Record News

"It documents the actual events and answers many questions previously unavailable to the American public. Every American should read [it]." -- Leonard Peltier

Blake tears away rumors and half-truths and quickly makes history draw breath within the gripping pages of..."Indian Yell." -- Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

From the Publisher

Eloquently written by award-winning author of Dances With Wolves, Michael Blake presents these conflicts with a perspective that goes beyond the basic facts of date, place, and outcome. Blake's insightful account of these battles finally answers the less pondered, more human questions about this crucial part of America's history. Blake's narrative shatters stereotypes, eloquently bringing to light the undercurrents of conflict between nations that are familiar themes to a contemporary audience.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Publishing Llc; First Edition edition (August 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873589076
• ISBN-13: 978-0873589079
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,050,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine read, but a narrow view of history., August 31, 2006

By 

Monty Rainey (New Braunfels, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Indian Yell: The Heart of an American Insurgency (Hardcover)

This book is a most enjoyable read, but is a very narrow presentation of Indian history. Michael Blake is certainly a very gifted writer and this book is a wonderful presentation, if, and that's a big "if", it is read within the context of which it was written. By that I mean, I fear that many readers might take this rather narrow presentation of "white man, bad - red man, good" history and run with it as being an all-inclusive presentation. That's not what it is, and I don't believe that's what Blake intended, but revisionist historians have given us such a skewed view of the history of the American West, particularly in white/Indian relations, that I'm afraid that might indeed be the end result.

INDIAN YELL is a presentation of twelve different events. The events are portrayed quite accurately, in fact, Blake gives the most accurate accounting of what took place at what has become known as Beecher's Island that I have found. And the problem is, I do not believe Blake has given any "bad" information here, I simply believe a matter so complex as the history of the American Indians in the 19th century cannot possibly be contained in the confines of a book of less than 200 pages, or for that matter, in the confines of twelve specific events. What I mean is, there is a much bigger picture that is not encapsulated here.

Perhaps the most stunning example would be the portrayal of the history of the Sioux. Don't misunderstand me here, certainly there is no question the American government mishandled the settlement of Indian lands at virtually every turn, and in the case of the Sioux, much emphasis is placed upon the massacre at Wounded Knee, but the overall picture is often left untold.

Historians, in the vain of Dee Brown's epic "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee", try to interpret the Indian wars of the northern plains only as "Indian-white" wars and described them only from the viewpoint of the Sioux hostiles. Historians typically brush off as "mercenaries" those tribes that became allies to the whites against the Sioux.

To view the Crow (who white trappers and traders had predicted in the 1830's would soon be extinct due to their far more numerous red enemies) and the Arikara (who also lost their land to the Sioux) as white "mercenaries" is far beyond simplistic reasoning and completely overlooks the long history of Indian warfare in the region. The Crow, Arikara and many other tribes had been fighting the Sioux (and losing, for the most part) for generations before they received any effective aid from the whites. Twentieth century historians are shortsighted in their work to attempt to lend understanding of the plight of the Indian without an awareness of the history of intertribal warfare.

The Sioux migrated south and west to the Missouri around 1750. In the century preceding and following that movement, the Sioux engaged in war with at least twenty-six other Indian tribes, as well as the River Metis and the U.S. Army. Historians almost always fail to note that the most dramatic battles fought between the army and the Sioux were on lands the Sioux had taken from other tribes since 1851. Also overlooked is that the Arikara and Hidatsa chiefs who had signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 had both been killed by the Sioux when in 1864, the Arakara Chief White Shield petitioned the army to uphold its treaty and punish the Sioux.

I've ventured off course, so let me return to Blake's work here. This is a highly readable and well-written piece. I seek only to remind readers of what Blake's presentation was surely meant to be; a depiction of twelve events that were a small part of the overall picture of history. Those twelve events are well presented here.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Choice, Especially For Young People, October 16, 2007

By 

C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Indian Yell: The Heart of an American Insurgency (Hardcover)

It is true as the author states that those who have done previous reading on this subject will find little that is new in this book. I have read other works on the conflicts between the Native Americans and the Whites as the latter encroached on their land, but still found the book to be enjoyable. Those with little or no background will find much to learn about this infamous part of our nation's history. Author Michael Blake has chosen twelve incidents between the warring factions and provided the reader with an interesting review. Such incidents as the Sand Creek Massacre, The Battle (?) of the Washita, the Little Big Horn, Wounded Knee, and others, some of which are not so well known, are included. The book is 170 pages long including the index, and is larger than a conventional hardcover which I feel is a definite plus. Also included are a number of photographs of the areas covered and the individuals involved. My one negative comment is the lack of the Fetterman Massacre and Wagon Box Fight near Fort Phil Kearney in Wyoming in 1866. The book is easy reading, and whether you have a background in this area or not I feel you would find it interesting reading. I would especially recommend it to young people in middle or high school.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American Indians - Continuation of Dances With Wolves, October 24, 2009

By 

Naomi L. Holroyd "Naomi L. Holroyd" (Westmont NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Indian Yell: The Heart of an American Insurgency (Hardcover)

Michael Blake has done it again. It was great to continue on from the end of "Dances With Wolves." I love these types of books because they don't just leave you and you don't have to wonder what happened to the characters in the future. I treasured every page. I love the Native American Indians and hope Michael will write more about some of the others tribes; I can't get enough of the history. "Dances With Wolves," the movie was wonderful and I watch wherever I see it on TV; wouldn't it be nice if they made "Indian Yell" into a movie?