Blood On The Prairie A Novel Of The Sioux Uprising

"Blood on the Prairie" tells the story of the Sioux uprising as seen through the eyes of those who witnessed the atrocities of this Indian war. Whites and Indians, both historical and fictional, tell the story of the uprising as they perceived it, and readers are allowed to form their own conclusions of these events.

The Dakota Conflict, or Great Sioux Uprising as it was called, occurred 150 years ago in 1862 and became identified as part of the American Civil War. This collector's edition is set amongst this theater of the American Civil War, where the Sioux Nation rebelled against Minnesota and led to some of the bloodiest conflicts of the period.

Blood on the Prairie: A Novel of the Sioux Uprising is an historical fiction novel based upon the events of the Great Sioux Uprising in Minnesota, now referred to as the Dakota Conflict. The author is a direct descendant of paternal familial residents of Mankato Minnesota at that time. Mankato was also the site of the hanging of 38 Sioux warriors convicted of committing atrocities against Minnesota settlers during the Dakota Conflict. This remains the largest mass execution in United States history. The hanging execution was carried out by the Union Army per the order of President Abraham Lincoln, and was an action of the American Civil War. The Dakota Conflict remains controversial to this day.

While the Civil War raged in the East and South, Dakota Indians in Minnesota erupted violently into action against white settlers, igniting the tragic Dakota War of 1862. Hemmed in on a narrow reservation along the upper Minnesota River, the Dakota (Sioux) were frustrated by broken treaties, angered by dishonest agents and traders, and near starvation because of crop failures and late annuity payments. Led by Little Crow, Dakota warriors attacked the Redwood and Yellow Medicine Indian agencies and all whites living on their former lands in south-western Minnesota. They killed more than 450 whites and took some 250 white and mixed-blood prisoners during the 38-day conflict. White civilians and military units commanded by Henry H. Sibley defended towns and forts, pursued warriors, and eventually forced the Indians to surrender or flee westward. The penalties imposed by vengeful whites were swift and devastating. The federal government hanged 38 Dakota men in the largest mass execution in US history, 300 were imprisoned, and the Dakota people were banished from the state. This is the most accessible and balanced account available which draws on a wealth of written and visual materials by white and Indian participants and observers to show the sources of the Dakotas' justified and bitter wrath -- and the terrible consequences of the conflict.--Amazon.com.

During one week in August 1862, in response to government lies and broken treaties, the previously peaceful Sioux rampaged throughout Minnesota leaving hundreds of settlers dead or homeless. With well-researched and insightful narrative, Schultz recounts one of America's most violent events.

commentary re: fraud allegations; illustrated cover

written by workers of the Federal Writersþ Project of the Works progress administration for the state of North Dakota, sponsored by the State Historical Society of North Dakota.