Sitting Bull and the Paradox of Lakota Nationhood

In this newly revised biography, Sitting Bull and the Paradox of Lakota Nationhood, Gary C. Anderson offers a new interpretation of Sitting Bull’s conflict with General George Custer at Little Big Horn and its aftermath, and details the events and life experiences that ultimately led Sitting Bull into battle. Incorporating the latest scholarship, Anderson profiles this military and spiritual leader of the Lakota people, a man who remained a staunch defender of his nation and way of life until his untimely death.

Sitting Bull and the Paradox of Lakota Nationhood explores the complexities and evolution of Lakota society and political culture within Sitting Bull’s lifetime as the Lakotas endured wave after wave of massive military and civilian intrusion into their lands. For a people not accustomed to living under a centralized authority, the Lakotas found themselves needing one to galvanize resistance against a relentless and rapidly expanding nation. Despite tactical success on a number of battlefields, Sitting Bull and the Lakotas lacked the military and political might to form an unyielding consensus on how to deal with the United States’ aggressive land seizures and military attacks. Ultimately, on the blood-soaked ground at Wounded Knee, amid the slaughter of noncombatants and aging warriors, the Lakotas would see their independence broken and Sitting Bull’s vision of a Lakota nation free of U.S. influence lost.