The Sioux: Life and Customs of a Warrior Society

By Royal B. Hassrick

Book Overview

For many people the Sioux, as warriors and as buffalo hunters, have become the symbol of all that is Indian colorful figures endowed with great fortitude and powerful vision. They were the heroes of the Great Plains, and they were the villains, too. Royal B. Hassrick here attempts to describe the ways of the people, the patterns of their behavior, and the concepts of their imagination. Uniquely, he has approached the subject from the Sioux's own point of view, giving their own interpretation of their world in the era of its greatest vigor and renown -the brief span of years from about 1830 to 1870. In addition to printed sources, the author has drawn from the observation and records of a number of Sioux who were still living when this book was projected, and were anxious to serve as links to the vanished world of their forebears. Because it is true that men become in great measure what they think and want themselves to be, it is important to gain this insight into Sioux thought of a century ago. Apparently, the most significant theme in their universe was that man was a minute but integral part of that universe. The dual themes of self-expression and self-denial reached through their lives, helping to explain their utter defeat soon after the Battle of the Little Big Horn. When the opportunity to resolve the conflict with the white man in their own way was lost, their very reason for living was lost, too. There are chapters on the family and the sexes, fun, the scheme of war, production, the structure of the nation, the way to status, and other aspects of Sioux life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806121408
• ISBN13: 9780806121406
• Release Date: January 2021
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Length: 422 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

The Best Book on the Sioux

I have an old copy of Royal B. Hassrick's book, THE SIOUX: LIFE AND CUSTOMS OF A WARRIOR SOCIETY. I got it in a bookstore in Denver in 1972. It's the best book book on the Sioux I've ever read. It's carefully researched, scholarly and it concentrates on the period from the 1830s to the 1870s, the period when the Sioux were the dominant force on the Plains. These are the Sioux who are still the archetypical Plains Indians. When some Frenchman thinks of "Plains Indians", he's probably got the Sioux in mind. Even other Plains Indians try to co-opt the look for themselves. If you are the least bit interested in Plains Indians, the Sioux, or any of the more famous bands like the Lakota or Teton Sioux, you MUST HAVE this book. I have a good collection of books on Plains Indians and I've lived and worked on a Sioux reservation in western South Dakota. If I could only keep one book about Plains Indians, it would be Hassrick's. It's old and scholarly in tone, but it's that good. It hearkens back to a time when "Indian Studies" still meant something. Loudmouth wannabees like Ward Churchill weren't tolerated on faculties and academic achievement was still held in high esteem. I gave this book five stars. If I could, I'd give it ten.

The Sioux (Reviewed by Don Larson)

I found this book at an Indian Store in Escondido, California while attending a Pow Wow there in May 2000.I have been a follower of Red Cloud for over twenty years now and feel a great affinity for the Sioux Indians for some reason.My previous thoughts about what is was like to be a Sioux member were badly mistaken. This book takes the time to lay out the fundamental aspects of this tribe's, history, land movements, and cultural elements.The cultural elements include their beliefs and are quite profound. Descriptions are given to how an individual is treated as an infant, young child, young adult, and adult. The distinctions between male and female roles are explained fully.By the reading and absorption of the book's various chapters, I now have a much better appreciation for the difficulties the Sioux population experienced preceding the 20th Century.Anyone who truly desires to understand one of the most powerful Plains Indians tribes should read this book.