Sitting Bull (review)

Biographies of the renowned Hunkpapa Lakota leader, Sitting Bull, have been fairly common over the years. His spiritual and physical presence in Montana's Bighorn country and, particularly, at the Battle of the Little Big Horn have inspired writers' interpretations of the events of the Great Sioux War 1876-77 for generations. Stanley Vestal's Sitting Bull: Champion of the Sioux (1932) stood as the major source on Sitting Bull's life for much of the twentieth century. More recently, Robert M. Utley's The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull (1993) has brought the story up to date for modern readers.

Now, there is yet another interpretation. Bill Yenne's Sitting Bull traces Sitting Bull's life through the resistance period of Lakota history from the 1850s through the remainder of the nineteenth century. He presents an overview of Sioux culture and history from early times to set the stage. Of course, major focus is placed on the military aspects of the decades of the 1860s and 1870s which were the seminal years for Sitting Bull's people in their efforts to maintain independence. Sitting Bull's involvement in the Battle of the Little Big Horn is vividly covered for Custer buffs. Sitting Bull did not think much of the Ghost Dance movement during the early reservation years. Yet his reputation as both a symbol and leader of resistance to Euroamerican civilization cast suspicion over his intentions in 1890 that resulted in his untimely and unnecessary death during that fateful year of Wounded Knee.

Yenne's study is a good introduction to and overview of the life of Sitting Bull for general readers of mass market trade histories. Chapters 7-8 and the Epilog are especially strong, explaining Sitting Bull's changing image over the years following his death as well as his legacy. Yenne makes good use of some of Sitting Bull's artistic outpourings. Military scholars, however, may find the book somewhat disappointing. There is little new information regarding the events surrounding Sitting Bull's experiences. There is only one map of the northern plains to aid interpretation. Occasionally the use of the passive voice is annoying. For example, "It was decided that sixty-one Lakota from Dakota Territory would go east" (p. 213). Who, specifically, made this decision? The reader sometimes has to find out by reading previous paragraphs. Most importantly, the book lacks end notes to document statements and claims.

These criticisms aside, Sitting Bull is a good overview for general readers, but for scholars, the standard biography remains Utley, The Lance and the Shield.