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“A credible biography must be a well-written, well-researched endeavor that stays on target. . . Although historical context is critical, it should avoid the trap of overemphasizing the time in which the person lived . . . eclips[ing] the primary subject. . . . Richmond L. Clow has met this challenge in this engaging biography of Lakota leader Spotted Tail (Sinte Gleska), which is based on an exhaustive array of original archival records. . . . This long-overdue update complements, if not supersedes, Gorge E. Hyde’s 1960 pioneering work, Spotted Tail’s Folk: A History of the Brulé Sioux. . . . [Clow is commended] for this insightful, sympathetic, and well-documented portrait of a skilled diplomat and mediator who understood the art of give and take and who also maintained good relations with U.S. Army officers after 1854. For its focused research and conclusions along, Spotted Tail belongs in the library of every serious student of the Plains Indian Wars of the post-Civil War era. For the general reader, it should serve as an example of effective storytelling. For both audiences, it would be money well spent.”—C. Lee Noyes, Montana The Magazine of Western History
"Richmond L. Clow has navigated the hazards of Lakota historiography to produce a multifaceted biography of Spotted Tail. . . . [he] succeeds in introducing a new generation of readers to a towering warrior- statesman whose deeds
shaped the course of Great Plains history."—Great Plains Quarterly
As a prominent leader of the Sicangu Lakotas during a time of conflict and change, Spotted Tail (1823–1881) left his mark on the Northern Great Plains. He was not a hereditary chief but developed his standing over time, first proving himself a capable warrior and later a persuasive negotiator. As white settlers encroached on Indian lands in ever-greater numbers, Spotted Tail decided to forgo engaging in prolonged conflicts with the United States, including those led by Red Cloud and Crazy Horse. Instead, he determined to negotiate with the United States to secure a homeland, education, employment, and other necessities essential to the future of his people. Had Spotted Tail chosen to fight, Captain John G. Bourke wrote in 1891, “neither North nor South Dakota, Wyoming nor Montana might now be on the map.”
Not all Lakotas agreed with his philosophy, and his tactics, heavy-handed at times, earned him enemies. On 5 August 1881, Crow Dog, a fellow Sicangu leader on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, shot and killed Spotted Tail, ending years of rivalry. Even in death, Spotted Tail continued to have an impact as Crow Dog’s conviction for his murder made its way to the United States Supreme Court, ultimately impacting tribal sovereignty.
In the first full biography of Spotted Tail since the 1960s, Richmond L. Clow uses firsthand accounts from tribal and nontribal sources, government records, and published works to establish Spotted Tail as both a warrior and a statesman. The author’s voluminous research into contemporary news accounts, including interviews with Spotted Tail, provides a wealth of information about his views and actions that, until now, have been remarkably underutilized.
"Richmond Clow's biography of Spotted Tail is a thoroughly researched study of an important and often overlooked Lakota warrior and leader who exerted a high degree of influence in dealings with the federal government. . . . Clow incorporated an extensive array of contemporary records . . . [and] examined contemporary newspaper and magazine accounts which provide texture and insights into the development of this portrait of Spotted Tail. . . . A much overdue examination of Spotted Tail."—North Dakota History
"Clow easily positions Spotted Tail in the midst of a dynamic transformation of the Northern Plains. . . . [This] biography is a comprehensive and essential account of Spotted Tail's life and legacy."—Annals of Wyoming
"Clow's portrait of Spotted Tail is textured and provides meaningful insights into the Sicangu Lakota leader's complexities."—Annals of Iowa