Little Bighorn Remembered: The Untold Indian Story of Custer's Last Stand
One of those events familiar to even the historically unaware or uninterested, Custer's Last Stand (or the Battle of Little Bighorn) has suffered the unfortunate fate of becoming a cultural icon, to be repackaged to fit different historians' ideologies. The last large-scale pitched battle between Indians and soldiers, it was a dramatic defeat for the U.S. military and yet the beginning of the end for the victorious Plains Indians. The picture is more complicated, though, as several Indian tribes served as scouts for Custer. Viola, curator emeritus at the Smithsonian and a frequent writer on Indian subjects, creates an interesting overview by collecting accounts of the battle by descendants of Indians who fought on both sides. Lavishly illustrated with period photographs, maps, and color drawings by witnesses as well as photographs of descendants, this recalling of the battle, supplemented by new archaeological research, should be popular with many readers. Recommended for larger public and academic libraries. (Photos not seen.)ACharles V. Cowling, Drake Memorial Lib., Brockport, NYCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.