Describes the religious organizations and the ceremonies that characterized each of the 35 Indian nations.

Describes the religious organizations and the ceremonies that characterized the thirty-five Indian nations of the Great Plains.

In his study of the civilian population that fell victim to the brutality of the 1860s Kansas Indian wars, Jeff Broome recounts the captivity of Susanna Alderdice, who was killed along with three of her children by her Cheyenne captors (known as Dog Soldiers) at the Battle of Summit Springs in July 1869, and of her four-year-old son, who was wounded then left for dead.

“An all-encompassing study . . . Holm shows the interconnecting historical, social and psychological attributes of Native American veterans.” —Historynet.com At least 43,000 Native Americans fought in the Vietnam War, yet both the American public and the United States government have been slow to acknowledge their presence and sacrifices in that conflict. In this first-of-its-kind study, Tom Holm draws on extensive interviews with Native American veterans to tell the story of their experiences in Vietnam and their readjustment to civilian life. Holm describes how Native American motives for going to war, experiences of combat, and readjustment to civilian ways differ from those of other ethnic groups. He explores Native American traditions of warfare and the role of the warrior to explain why many young Indigenous men chose to fight in Vietnam. He shows how Native Americans drew on tribal customs and religion to sustain them during combat. And he describes the rituals and ceremonies practiced by families and tribes to help heal veterans of the trauma of war and return them to the “white path of peace.” This information, largely unknown outside the Native American community, adds important new perspectives to our national memory of the Vietnam war and its aftermath. “An overview of one kind of serviceman about which nothing substantive has been written: the Native American . . . A fascinating introduction to the role of military traditions and the warrior ethic in mid-20th-century [Native American] life.” —Library Journal