About the Author

Stephen Dando-Collins is an Australian-born historian, editor and author. He has written four books, including the acclaimed Caesar's Legion.

Reviews

Australian-born scribe Dando-Collins (Caesar's Legion) undertakes to tell the story of the Ponca tribe's landmark case against the U.S. government. In 1877, Standing Bear and his people were removed from their home in northern Nebraska and relocated to Oklahoma, where many tribal members, including Standing Bear's son, died in the poor living conditions. Intent on burying the boy in his ancestral lands, Standing Bear brought his case against the government in 1879-and won. Unfortunately, in this account, the court case becomes slightly muddied, and the historical characters involved, though dashing, daring, and intriguing, are not quite focused enough to sustain the narrative after the case is resolved. Dando-Collins's writing begins to take on the tone of its 19th-century primary sources, which may help round out the first-person perspectives but does not allow for new approaches to or analysis of these interesting people and events. Dando-Collins does shine light on the violent clash between corrupt bureaucracy and the grass-roots crusading that led to change, but the narrative arc isn't sustained throughout. For Native American collections.-Elizabeth Morris, Illinois Fire Svc. Inst. Lib., Champaign Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.