Indians
These books are mainly biographies. For the various Indian Nations in general, please look under the History section of the library.
The First Hundred Years of Nino Cochise by Ciye Nino Cochise, grandson of the legendary Chief Cochise, as told to Kinney Griffith. This book is "one of the most interesting Indian tales to come along in many a moon..." according to the Denver Post. Genial, full of gusto, undaunted by age and the perfidies of the past, Nino Cochise recalls the fascinating and often bloody drama of his ninety-eight years. The escape, in 1876, of 38 Apaches to a mountain paradise in Northern Mexico...Nino, the Chief at 15, fiercely fighting off Los Goddammies...his slashing revenge for a sweetheart's betrayal...the heartbreaking tragedy of his young wife's violent death in battle...his uncle Geronimo ("not the world's smartest man").......Tom Jeffords, the best Indian Agent of them all...the tribe's wise and wily old shaman Dee-O-Det, who thrived on whiskey and lived to the age of 110...Teddy Roosevelt, Pancho Villa, Porfirio Diaz...Apache customs of courtship and marriage, or war and religion, of victory and death. No other book reveals the heart and mind of the Apache with such humor and irony.
In the Days of Victorio by Eve Ball, narrated by James Kaywaykla. Shining through every page is the unquenchable spirit that was the Apache. Inured, indeed trained, to suffering, Apaches stood strong beside Victorio, Nana, and finally Geronimo in a vain attempt to maintain those things they held more dear than life itself -- freedom, homeland, dignity as human beings.
Geronimo's Story of His Life taken down and edited by S.M. Barrett. The soul, rituals and history of the Apache people told in the words of Geronimo to S.M. Barrett and published in 1906. This story is a sterling example of the valiant but losing battle First Nations cultures fought against the seemingly unstoppable European way of life.
Geronimo by Angie Debo. By all accounts, Angie Debo has written the finest, most rounded, most thorough, most definitive book on Geronimo. In place of the distorted image of Geronimo as a bloodthirsty savage, she offers her vision of a man full of energy and drive, fiercely independent, possessed of great business acumen, and interested in everything. This book is a must-have.
Cochise by Edwin R. Sweeney. Cochise was said to be the most resourceful, most brutal, and most feared Apache ever. He and his warriors raided in both Mexico and the United States, submitting to the reservation only in the face of overwhelming military superiority. He took advantage of every opportunity to run the white man from his lands. He is unquestionably the finest leader the Apaches ever had.
Mangas Coloradas by Edwin R. Sweeney. Mangas Coloradas was one of the most famous and long-lived of all the Apache chiefs, leading his people for almost forty years before he was betrayed and murdered by Anglos. During his last years, he and his son-in-law, Cochise, led an assault against white settlement in Apacheria, which made the two of them the most feared warriors in the Southwest.
Crazy Horse by Mari Sandoz. Crazy Horse is considered by all to be the greatest military leader the Oglala Sioux ever had. The fourth war chief in his family genealogy to bear the name, his personal power and social nonconformity set him apart from other warriors at an early age, and there is no question that he was always, totally for the Lakota way of life. He held out boldly against the government's efforts to confine the Sioux on a reservation. When surrender did come, he gave his war shirt to Chief Red Cloud, becoming the only chief refusing to surrender to the Whites. But even in surrender, he was strong. "Where are your lands now Crazy Horse?" one soldier taunted him. "My lands are where my dead lie buried," Crazy Horse responded, pointing his finger defiantly at his attacker. Although there are many books on Crazy Horse, this is the only one the Sioux administrators of the Crazy Horse Monument in South Dakota recommend as being the most accurate and thought-provoking.
Crazy Horse and the Real Reason for the Battle of the Little Big Horn by Dr. A. Ross Ehanamani. Written by an Oglala Sioux, this book gives a different perspective on Crazy Horse and the infamous battle. The author is not only a scholar, he is Oglala Sioux, and he knows many descendants of the participants in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. He also works at the Crazy Horse Mountain, where he answers questions tourists have on Crazy Horse and the Sioux Nation. His book includes some very interesting information on the seven tribes of the Sioux Nation.
The Killing of Chief Crazy Horse edited by Robert A. Clark. It's the story of envy, greed, and treachery. In the year after the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Crazy Horse and his half-starved followers finally surrendered to Chief Red Cloud at Camp Robinson, Nebraska. A year later, Crazy Horse was fatally wounded by a bayonet in a scuffle that was reported differently by every observer. This book is viewed from three widely different perspectives -- that of Chief He Dog, the victim's friend and lifelong companion; that of William Garnett, who was guide and interpreter for Lt. William P. Clark, on special assignment to General Crook; and that of Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy, the medical officer who attended Crazy Horse in his last hours.
The Apache Kid by Phyllis de la Garza. To the Apaches, he was Has-kay-bay-nay-ntayl..."brave and tall and will come to a mysterious end." During his outlaw career, he was called Evil Incarnate, red renegade of the West, devil marauder, blood-thirsty killer and fiend. Apart from Cochise and Geronimo, no other Apache gained more notoriety in Arizona history, but unlike Cochise and Geronimo, when he did go on the warpath, he outfoxed everybody who set a trap for him. His ultimate fate to this day remains a mystery, but there's enough evidence to suggest he lived a long and healthy life. Click on the link if you would like to read the legend of Massai and the Apache Kid written by Old West historian Lee Paul on the Legends of the Old West web site.
Plenty-Coups by Frank B. Linderman. In his old age, the last hereditary chief of the Crow Nation told his story to Linderman. Originally published in 1930, this story is today a classic account of the Plains Indian's vanished way of life. The great chief speaks eloquently of the highlights of his own life: his medicine dream, his late marriage, the death of General Custer. This is a very moving book about a magnificent warrior.
The Memoirs of Chief Red Fox by Chief William Red Fox. This book is the diary of the nephew of Crazy Horse, who lived through both Custer's last stand and Alan Shepard's attempt to play golf on the moon. It is written sorrowfully, looking back to a good life destroyed by the white man.
Quahah Parker, Comanche Chief by Rosemary K. Kissinger. In May 1836, a large war party of Comanche attacked a small fort in Texas, abducting blond, blue-eyed Cynthia Ann Parker, who was nine years old at the time. Adopted into the tribe, Cynthia eventually married Peta Nocona and gave birth to a son, whom they named Quanah for the flower-filled valley of his birth. Part white, but thoroughly Comanche, he was destined to become one of the greatest Comanche chiefs ever to have lived.
Sequoyah, the Cherokee Genius by Stan Hoig. Sequoyah, the most renowned Cherokee of all, was noted for the singular feat of inventing an alphabet for the native language of his people. He was an unlettered Cherokee, who, entirely from the resources of his own brilliant mind, endowed his whole trip with learning, the only man in history to conceive and perfect in its entirety an alphabet or syllabary. He is the only Indian in history to have a State Park, a State Tree, and a National Park named in his honor.
Seqyoyah by Grant Foreman. Soon after 1800, Sequoyah began to realize the magic of writing. He and other Indians of the time, who occasionally saw samples of writing, called these mysterious pages the white man's "talking leaf." He experimented aimlessly at first, but gradually his conception took practical shape. After 12 years of labor and discouragement, his completed syllabary, composed of 85 symbols, was finished. The Cherokee Nation was made practically literate within a few months. This book is a must read!
Sequoyah: Leader of the Cherokee by Alice Marriott. This is a Landmark book, written primarily for adolescents, but no less entertaining. It tells the life story of Sequoyah, creator of the Cherokee Alphabet.
Red Fox: Stand Watie's Civil War Years in Indian Territory by Wilfred Knight. Leading his band of Cherokee braves, Stand Watie was to become the first Native American General Officer in the Confederate Army. Over and over he proved himself an adept leader of forces against a much stronger opponent. Elected as Principal Chief of the Cherokees during the war, this biography is a tribute to the last General Officer of the Confederacy to lay down his arms.
Life of General Stand Watie by Mabel Washbourne Anderson. An extremely rare, very small book, packed full of significant facts about the last Confederate General to surrender. It covers all of Stand Watie's battles, his family, friends and his role in the Cherokee Nation before, during, and after the Civil War. Thoroughly engrossing!
A Creek Warrior for the Confederacy: The Autobiography of Chief George Washington Grayson. Born in 1843 near present-day Eufaula, Oklahoma, Chief Grayson served as a Confederate army officer during the Civil War and in various offices of the Creek Nation from 1870 until his death in 1920. It is a work of an intimate and comprehensive view of the Creek history from the inside.
Fools Crow: Wisdom and Power by Thomas E. Mails. Frank Fools Crow, Ceremonial Chief of the Teton Sioux, is regarded by many to be the greatest Native American holy person of the last hundred years. Nephew of Black Elk, and a disciplined, gentle spiritual and political leader, Fools Crow died in 1989 at the age of 99. This is the most fascinating story you could ever printed on any Sioux Holy Man.
The Peace Chiefs of the Cheyenne by Stan Hoig. This book includes short biographies of many of the Cheyenne peace chiefs: Yellow Wolf, Old Tobacco, Slim Face, Porcupine Bear, Alights-on-the-Cloud, White Antelope, Lean Bear, Bull Bear, Roman Nose, Black Kettle, Little Robe, Stone Calf, Dull Knife...many more. Great book.
Indian Heroes & Great Chieftains by Charles A. Eastman. Short biographies on Chief Joseph, Little Wolf, Hole-in-the-Day, Rain-in-the-Face, Two Strike, American Horse, Dull Knife, Roman Nose, Sitting Bull, Gall, Tamahay, Crazy Horse, Spotted Tail, and Red Cloud. Fascinating.
The Patriot Chiefs by Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. This is the chronicle of American Indian Resistance and includes the histories of Chief Joseph, Crazy Horse, Black Hawk, Osceola, Tecumseh, Pontiac, Pope, King Philip, Hiawatha, among others. It's a very old book and very difficult to locate.