As agency physician on the Pine Ridge Reservation from 1896 to 1914, Dr. James R. Walker recorded a wealth of information on the traditional lifeways of the Oglala Sioux.

To the Plains Indians, the Sun Dance has traditionally been a profound religious ceremony, the highest form of worship of the Most Holy One. Thomas E. Mails was invited to attend and record in detail the Sioux Sun Dances at Rosebud and Pine Ridge. This was a singular honor no white man has been accorded before or since. The result is this groundbreaking work, illustrated with rare photographs and stunning four-color paintings.

This volume, first published in 2004, presents an overview of the history of the Plains Sioux as they became increasingly subject to the power of the United States in the 1800s. Many aspects of this story - the Oregon Trail, military clashes, the deaths of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, and the Ghost Dance - are well-known. Besides providing fresh insights into familiar events, the book offers an in-depth look at many lesser-known facets of Sioux history and culture. Drawing on theories of colonialism, the book shows how the Sioux creatively responded to the challenges of US expansion and domination, while at the same time revealing how US power increasingly limited the autonomy of Sioux communities as the century came to a close. The concluding chapters of the book offer a compelling reinterpretation of the events that led to the Wounded Knee massacre of December 29, 1890.

"Thunder's Grace" is the tale of a remarkable elder, Grandma Grace Spotted Eagle, who adopted the author and guided her in spiritual awakening. At once harrowing and uplifting, this memoir takes us from her traumatic early life through to her transformative experiences with Grandma Grace and other legendary elders such as Wallace Black Elk, Rolling Thunder, and Chief Leonard Crow Dog; it culminates with her inclusion in the Sun Dance, one of the world's most venerable of sacred initiations. Intimate, honest, and spiritual in essence, this is a book about a woman's quest for meaning amid two cultures and a compelling account of the visionary side of life.

A powerful story of one man's redemption through the Lakota Sun Dance ceremony. • Written by the only white man to be confirmed as a Sundance Chief by traditional Lakota elders. • Includes forewords by prominent Lakota spiritual leaders Leonard Crow Dog, Charles Chipps, Mary Thunder, and Jamie Sams. The Sun Dance is the largest and most important ceremony in the Lakota spiritual tradition, the one that ensures the life of the people for another year. In 1988 Michael Hull was extended an invitation to join in a Sun Dance by Lakota elder Leonard Crow Dog-- a controversial action because Hull is white. This was the beginning of a spiritual journey that increasingly interwove the life of the author with the people, process, and elements of Lakota spirituality. On this journey on the Red Road, Michael Hull confronted firsthand the transformational power of Lakota spiritual practice and the deep ambivalence many Indians had about opening their ceremonies to a white man. Sun Dancing presents a profound look at the elements of traditional Lakota ceremonial practice and the ways in which ceremony is regarded as life-giving by the Lakota. Through his commitment to following the Red Road, Michael Hull gradually won acceptance in a community that has rejected other attempts by white America to absorb its spiritual practices, leading to the extraordinary step of his confirmation as a Sun Dance Chief by Leonard Crow Dog and other Lakota spiritual leaders.