Plenty-Coups - (Bison Book) by Frank B Linderman (Paperback)

About the Book

Principally an autobiographical account told to F.B. Linderman.

Book Synopsis

"An exciting account by one of the last great chiefs."―Los Angeles Times

In his old age, Plenty-coups (1848-1932), the last hereditary chief of the Crow Indians, told the moving story of his life to Frank B. Linderman, the well-known western writer who had befriended him. Plenty-coups is a classic account of the nomadic, spiritual, and warring life of Plains Indians before they were forced onto reservations. Plenty-coups tells of the great triumphs and struggles of his own life: his powerful medicine dreams, marriage, raiding and counting coups against the Lakotas, fighting alongside the U.S. Army, and the death of General Custer.

This new edition allows readers to appreciate more fully the accomplishments and rich legacy of Plenty-coups:

• A previously unpublished essay by Linderman tells of his meeting and working with the chief.
• An introduction by Phenocia Bauerle and Barney Old Coyote Jr., both members of the Crow Nation, speaks to the enduring importance of Plenty-coups for the Crow people in the twenty-first century.
• An afterword by Timothy P. McCleary, also of the Crow Nation, highlights the pivotal role Plenty-coups played during the early reservation years after the buffalo had gone.
• An essay by Celeste River examines the special relationship between the old chief and Linderman.
• A map of Plenty-coups's world highlights places named in the story
• A glossary of Crow words and concepts found in the story draws upon the latest orthographic standards and contemporary translation.
• A photo gallery showcases both Plenty-coups at different stages of his life and unforgettable scenes of his world.

Review Quotes

"All my life I have tried to learn as the Chickadee learns, by listening, --profiting by the mistakes of others, that I might help my people. . . . My whole thought is of my people. I want them to be healthy, to become again the race they have been."--Plenty Coups

"An exciting account by one of the last great chiefs."--Los Angeles Times

"The eloquent memoir . . . is one of the best of the Indian autobiographies."--American Heritage

About the Author

Frank B. Linderman is the author of Pretty-shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows, available in a Bison Books edition. Phenocia Bauerle and Barney Old Coyote Jr. are the editor and compiler, respectively, of The Way of the Warrior: Stories of the Crow People, (Nebraska 2003). Timothy P. McCleary teaches anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is the author of The Stars We Know: Crow Indian Astronomy and Lifeways.