Killing Custer: The Battle of Little Big Horn and the Fate of the Plains Indians (Paperback)

~ (Author), Paul Stekler (Author)
Key Phrases: lone tipi, unceded territory, Sitting Bull, Black Hills, Red Cloud (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Novelist Welch and documentary filmmaker Stekler probe the long-term repercussions that victory over Custer had for Native Americans, in a companion book to their PBS documentary Last Stand at Little Bighorn.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Novelist/poet Welch has produced a compelling history of the Indian wars of the northern Plains with insights from his firsthand experience with tribal life.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140251766
• ISBN-13: 978-0140251760
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #343,006 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars it's a good day to die, May 8, 2001

By	JEAN-MARIE JUIF (BESANCON France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's a good day to die; the book was issued in France under this title.Looking for other books on this american site,I was surprised and shocked to read some of the reviews.I think this book is important . Of course, I guess that many books have been written about this subject, and I don't know if this one gives us more informations than the others.But what is important to me is the fact that this book has been written by an indian,a man who has more than anyone else, the right to speak about what happened to his people. The 20's century great democracies, including France,can't be proud of their foundations.America with indian and black peoples,France in the West Indies ,and North Africa.One thing surprises me in the reviews of this book:a reviewer only writes about the Little Big Horn battle,although the book goes from 1869 to Sitting Bull's death in 1890.He is sad not to have been able to see the Reno site while visiting the country; personnaly,I would have prefered (and hope I'll have the opportunity) to spend a few hours on the place,near the river,where the Sioux and Cheyennes were living with their families.Another reviewer complains about "the political subtones of the author".And so what? Senator McCarthy fortunately died,no? And I think Mr Welch ,like any other human being, can and has to have a political conciousness.YOu can agree with him or not,but you can't reproach him with telling what he thinks .I was glad to read this book,and I recommend it to you.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well Written, but not History, October 2, 2007

By	John M. Lane "statesman and philosopher" (Hardin, Montana, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The late James Welch is ranked among American Indian writers like N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko and Gerald Visenor. His skill as a writer is evident in KILLING CUSTER: THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN AND THE FATE OF THE PLAINS INDIANS which was published in 1994.

Paul Stekler, a talented filmmaker from Massachusetts is listed as the co-author. He persuaded Welch to write a documentary about Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Stekler hoped to make a film about the battle from "the Indian point of view." Welch, a member of Montana's Blackfeet Tribe from Browning, was "the Indian."

In fact, Welch used to refer to himself that way. He eschewed phrases like "Native American" or "Amerindian" in favor of "Indian." I rather liked that about him.

Welch didn't know much about Custer, or the Battle of the Little Bighorn and he never seemed especially interested in them. He resolved that issue by writing another classical James Welch book. His works were being translated into French and most other European languages and he was even Knighted in France. Sir James was made a Chevalier de l' Ordre des Art et des Lettres of France in 2000.

I have always suspected that Sir James put one over on us unwashed commoners in KILLING CUSTER. The book is well written and, if you like Welch's literary style, you'll like this book. It does not, however, really describe either General Custer, his death, or the battle in which he fell.

So, if you actually want to know something about the General and the Battle, this is the wrong book. That doesn't make it a bad book, just a misleading one. I like KILLING CUSTER, but it impresses me more as another of Sir James' novels rather than a work of history.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars INDIAN VIEW OF LITTLE BIGHORN, August 2, 2004

By	B Ardell Young (Camden, SC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The value of this book lies in the ability to present the Indians as humans rather than the evil savages ingrained into most American s during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Mr. Welch succeeds in showing the indecision and doubt that plagued Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse during the latter years of the Plains War. The passages explaining the negative aftermath of the Little Bighorn for the Plains Indian because it is overlooked or ignored by history books.

I thought Mr. Welch's decison to weave the Little Bighorn into the story of making the film about the battle made the book more interesting. It allowed the inclusion of unrelated items, such as the gravesite of Bill Thomas, which provided additional background to some of the major points of the book.

It is an interesting and easy read that would be enjoyable to anyone slightly interested in Custer, Little Bighorn or the Plains Indians.