Moon of Popping Trees

by Rex Alan Smith

“One of the best books on Indian history published in this century.”—Western History Association

The last significant clash of arms in the American Indian Wars took place on December 29, 1890, on the banks of Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. Of the 350 Teton Sioux Indians there, two-thirds were women and children. When the smoke cleared, 84 men and 62 women and children lay dead, their bodies scattered along a stretch of more than a mile where they had been trying to flee. Of some 500 soldiers and scouts, about 30 were dead—some, probably, from their own crossfire. Wounded Knee has excited contradictory accounts and heated emotions. To answer whether it was a battle or a massacre, Rex Alan Smith goes further into the historical records and cultural traditions of the combatants than anyone has gone before. His work results in what Alvin Josephy Jr., editor of American Heritage, calls "the most definitive and unbiased" account of all, Moon of Popping Trees.

"As an Indian historian, I consider Moon of Popping Trees triumphantly superb

. . . . History in its truest form and untarnished perspective."—Dallas Chief Eagle, former Director of the United Sioux Tribes

"Solid, thoroughly researched, objective, and readable . . . one of the best books on Indian history to be published in this century."—Donald E. Worcester, Texas Christian University

"Sensitive, balanced, and creatively written. . . . Moon of Popping Trees is not just a good book, it is a great one."—W. David Baird, Pepperdine University

— ©1981