Red Cloud: Warrior-Statesman of the Lakota Sioux (Oklahoma Western Biographies) [Hardcover]

Robert W. Larson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Oklahoma Western Biographies | Publication Date: April 1997

Perhaps no Indian leader of the mid-nineteenth century was as well known in his time as the great Lakota Sioux Red Cloud. Although his fame later was eclipsed by that of the legendary heroes who crushed Custer's Seventh Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn-Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse-Red Cloud's active leadership of his people, and his representation of the Sioux in vital negotiations with the U.S. government, survived the demise of the other leaders by many years.

Red Cloud was not born to leadership. He earned it. In his early years he gained a reputation for fierceness as a warrior and as a tactician against both whites and other Indian tribes. And in his middle years, his leadership against the U.S. Army in the Powder River country, his forcing the closure of the Bozeman Trail, and his strong pressure to negotiate the favorable outcome of the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868 made him the preeminent chief among the Sioux.

In his later years, Red Cloud was an intermediary for his people in their dealings with the U.S. government. Although his motives at times were questioned, he steadfastly resisted encroachments on Sioux land during the reservation period, and he consistently protested the pressure by market oriented whites to impose an agrarian economy on a people who had never farmed. Red Cloud's passionate belief in the values of his culture prevented him from acting as a culture broker; nevertheless, he remained an important figure of the Gilded Age.

Imbued with the new social and environmental historiography, this modern biography by Robert W. Larson is a valuable contribution to Sioux history and to our understanding of Indian-white relationships in the nineteenth century as well as political aspects of the Indian-white dialogue.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Opponents of the "Warrior-Statesman of the Lakota Sioux" (as the subtitle dubs him) criticized Red Cloud (1822-1909) as duplicitous. In Robert Larson's sympathetic appraisal, Red Cloud's deliberate deceptiveness was part of a delaying tactic to sustain Lakota culture in an increasingly hostile environment. Eventually concluding that the white invaders could not be stopped, the fierce fighter became a wily negotiator who wrung some concessions from the U.S. government as he presided over his people's transition from nomadism to reservation life. It's a sad story, told with sensitive awareness of history's painful ambiguities.

From Publishers Weekly

Wielding the source material with muscular assurance and a judicious eye, historian Bray aims at nothing less than a definitive account of the great Oglala warrior and tribal chief. In painstaking detail, he paints a life and career of exceptional valor, skill and influence on behalf of the Lakota people. Though Crazy Horse was self-possessed and brilliant in battle, his tactical gifts were offset by the reluctant assumption of civil leadership, a role at odds with his taciturn and introspective nature. Bray carefully weighs the private and the political life to illustrate the interaction of Crazy Horse's personal experiences with larger historical events (including intertribal conflicts, fragile alliances, and clashes with American soldiers, among them the battle at Little Bighorn)—all shaped by the mounting encroachments of white society in the 1850s–1870s. The author presents his account as a more historically accurate complement to the breathless, iconic portraiture of Mari Sandoz's long-standard biography, Crazy Horse, the Strange Man of the Oglalas. But Bray's compensatory rigor sacrifices some narrative flow to the exigencies of a detailed scholarly accounting. If general readers' eyes may glaze over at many of the particulars, this nonfiction debut promises to be a standard reference for many years to come. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr; First Edition edition (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806129301
• ISBN-13: 978-0806129303
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,783,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthy foe for the white man, November 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Red Cloud: Warrior-Statesman of the Lakota Sioux (Oklahoma Western Biographies) (Paperback)

Traditionally, stories of Indian leaders view them as temporarily dangerous nuisances the whites had to deal with during the reasonable and inevitable process of moving the Indians onto reservations. This book is part of a new approach of looking at what an Indian leader tried to achieve for his people and assessing how he went about it and how successful he was in meeting his own goals. There is much detail. Larson has been extremely thorough in his researches, and, though we do not really hear Red Cloud's voice, we respecfully watch him do what he had to do to further his people's best interests. He didn't wear a suit or tie or have an Ivy League degree, but Red Cloud functioned very well indeed in opposing an alien force. Anyone who thinks the earth may one day be invaded from outer space should study Red Cloud. Thank you, Oklahoma University Press.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the most part, doesn't avoid the controversy, April 30, 2001

By 

LaLoren - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Cloud: Warrior-Statesman of the Lakota Sioux (Oklahoma Western Biographies) (Paperback)

Along with Crazy Horse, Red Cloud is probably one of the best known
Native American leaders, at least by name. He is also probably the
most controversial. Some see him as a statesman and visionary
who,aware that war against the whites had become pointless, negotiated
in the best interests of his people. Others see him as self-serving
and vain, using white insistance on negotiating with "one true
chief" as a means to his own ends.

For the most part, Larson
weighs in on the side of statesman, but he doesn't fail to show the
other side too. He points out how Red Cloud would often make a point
of a small issue, that would benefit only him, at the expense of a
larger issue that affected his people. One example he uses is when,
on a trip to Washington in 1870, Red Cloud became sullen and withdrawn
until he was assured that his delegation would be given 17 horses to
for the trip from the train to the reservation. However, he largely
ignored the bigger and more important issue, of mining for gold in the
Black Hills.

Unfortunately, though, on the most controversial
issue, how much Red Cloud had to do with Crazy Horse's death, or at
least plans for his arrest, Larson is disappointingly vague. He does
acknowlege that Red Cloud was probably jealous of the younger leader.
Indeed, in the last chapter he notes that "...his role in this
tragic affair is probably the blackest mark against his name."
(p.302) Unfortunately, though, Larson doesn't cover the incident in
nearly enough detail. He implies that Crazy Horse truly was planning
to go back on the warpath, rather than fight the Nez Perce as
requested by Lieutenant Clark. He also makes no mention of any possible
misinterpretation of Crazy Horse's words by the less than reputable
interpreter Frank Grouard. Larson may have had good reason for
choosing to leave out some of this material. Certainly his list of
sources shows that the book is well-researched. Unfortunately, the
choice by the publisher, not to use footnotes in this particular
series makes it difficult to determine on what Larson bases his
assumptions.

On the whole, though, the book is well written, and
easy to follow. It is especially valuable for information about Red
Cloud's life before and after the Indian Wars, a period that is not
covered much in any history books. I can definitely recommend this as
a good introduction for those not familiar with the period, or for
those who simply want to know more about the role Red Cloud played in
those important times. However, I would follow it with a good
biography of Crazy Horse.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting,clever,educational,easy to follow, November 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Red Cloud: Warrior-Statesman of the Lakota Sioux (Oklahoma Western Biographies) (Hardcover)

Red Cloud:Warrioir Statesman of the Lakota Souix is a really excellent biography. Larson does a great job of presenting all the informaton in an understandable and captivating way that really makes me want to learn more about Native American history. There is even a map/picture section in the middle of the biography that helps clarify any questions you may have while reading, as all the different battles and tribes might confuse you. Other than that temporary confusion, good job Mr. Larson