Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Release Date: November 3, 2015
From the viewpoint of Sitting Bull's spirit, he tells of his experiences with the white man and how his tribe was treated by the US Government. Starting with his childhood and leading up to him being named war chief, he details what life was like for his people before and after the wasichus arrive, finally culminating in the battles of Killdeer Mountain and Little Bighorn.
Telling the history of Native Americans to children, without glossing over the dark details of that narrative is tricky. Many non-fiction books seem to handle this simply by focusing on what the tribe was like. What they ate, drank, lived in, etc. Not that this isn't important within an anthropological sense, but it also glosses over the ugly truth. This book did a good job of finding the balance between cultural information and dark facts, making it appropriate for an elementary school reader while still addressing pressing issues.
Nelson has once again written a fabulous Native American story that mixes the rich cultural heritage of the Lakota peoples and the dark history that surrounds them.
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