COYOTE BOOKS
3818 14th AVENUE. NW
ROCHESTER, MN 55901
Specializing in books about American Indian Leaders, Oratory, and Tribes of the Upper Midwest: Dakota-Lakota, Ojibway, and Ho-Chunk.
In praise of Mark Diedrich's published work on the Dakota:
Forthcoming for the Fall of 2010:
BARNS OF THE UPPER MIDWEST
by Mark Diedrich
Mark Diedrich has been photographing barns of the Upper Midwest for some years now. He has finally decided to publish a gallery of his photos,along with a Short History of Upper Midwest Barns. The text explains the development of barn-building in the Upper Midwest and the different types and styles of barns. Many barns have already fallen, and many more are derelicts, left to the mercy of the elements. This is an effort to bring attention to notable, interesting, or just plain beautiful barns which still stand in this region. Diedrich utilizes his love of history with skillful use of the camera to make this a highly valuable book. The text features many quotations from the farmers themselves and the experts who tried to help them. Learn (and see) the English Barn, the Raised Barn, the Foundation Barn, the Basement Barn, the limestone barn, the Monitor Roof Barn, the Saxon or Hay Barn, and the Western or Mormon-style Barn.
[Fall 2010; 9" x 9", 100 p., full-color photo gallery, $24.95]
by Mark Diedrich
The chiefs Hole in the Day were acclaimed legends on the Minnesota frontier in their own time, and the foremost leaders of the Ojibway, or Chippewa, tribe between 1825 and 1868. Long neglected by historians, this is the first comprehensive, short, biography ever published about these influential chiefs. Missionary L. H. Wheeler wrote in 1843 that the elder Hole in the Day was "evidently the greatest and most intelligent man" in the Chippewa Nation, with "as fine a form of body, head, and face, as perhaps could be found in any country." Of the younger Hole in the Day, historian Bernard Coleman writes: "Adjectives pale in the description of so dynamic a personality."
"This handsomely designed volume is a spare but comprehensive recounting of the lives of four generations of Chippewa leaders.. . . [T]his well docment and generally well-written account should appeal to both students and general readers. The author has thoroughly mined the manuscript collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, etc.. The volume is generously illustrated with drawings by the author." --Robert Kvasnicka, Minnesota History
[81/2 x 11, 58 pages, photographs, map index, bibliographic notes, paper, $16.95, ISBN: 0-9616901-0-0]
DAKOTA CHIEFS Volume One
(The revised version of Famous Chiefs of the Eastern Sioux)
By Mark Diedrich
Completely revised, updated and indexed, Famous Dakota Chiefs covers five great Dakota leaders of the 1700-1800s: Wapahasha I, Dakota Hero; Red Wing, Dakota Partisan; Waneta, Dakota Dictator; Inkpaduta, Dakota Outlaw; and Little Crow, Dakota Speaker. Dakota chiefs offered a wide spectrum of leadership flavors, many of which overlapped. Relive their struggles in dealing with, or warring with, the Euro-American powers, as well as their troubles in coexisting with other Indian tribes. This volume is about the only one of its kind, backed with up-to-date scholarly research and the no-frills writing style of the author.
Reviewers write of the original edition: "The notes and bibliography make this volume a compact and handy reference for anyone interested in the famous leaders of the Dakota." --William K. Powers,South Dakota History.
#Diedrich presents five biographical sketches, each attempting to illustrate a different aspect of chieftainship: hero, partisan, outlaw, and speaker. As an introductory work it offers the basis for more intensive studies of the Dakota. . . politics."
--Thomas F. Schilz, Annals of Iowa.
“Substantial index and endnotes plus a map . . . and photographs add value to this study on Dakota leaders. . . . It illustrates great variety in leadership strategies by band chiefs among eastern Dakota people."
--Dr. Herbert T. Hoover, University of South Dakota
[8.5 x 11 in., 148 pages, 1999, illustrated, map, endnotes, paper, $24.95. ISBN 1:892415-01-1]
OLD BETSEY
The Life and Times of a Famous
Dakota Woman and her Family
by Mark Diedrich
This life and times biography is the fascinating and unique story of the most famous woman of the Mdewakanton Dakota tribe. "Old Bets" was long associated with the Kaposia band, led by the famed Little Crow. Taopi, the well-known Christian farmer chief, was her son. To her people she was a typical, though extroverted woman, devoted to her family and tribe, and to the early settlers of Minnesota, she was variously a beggar or celebrity and tourist attraction.
Old Betsey: [8.5 x 11, 170 pages, 1995, illustrated, maps, appendix, notes, bibliography, index, paper, $29.95, ISBN: 0-9616901-9-4] "Mark Diedrich’s biography of the nineteenth century Mdewakanton Dakota woman, Old Betsey, provides a summary what the lives of Dakota women were like of. . , followed by biographical and genealogical information on Old Betsey, who witnessed the transformation of her homeland . . . as non-Native settlers and the U.S. Army invaded and set about making the land their own. . . The narrative style of this book is engaging. . . .“ --Gretchen Green, Annals of Iowa
"Diedrich presents a sensitive portrayal of Dakota people, history, and culture. . . . One of the strengths of this work is his insightful analysis of the role of women within Dakota society, a delicate topic that has been greatly distorted in many texts on the Dakota. . . . The information on Dakota history and culture used to contextualizes the lives of Betsey and her family make it a worthwhile contribution to Dakota historiography." --Angela Cavender Wilson, Minnesota History
HO-CHUNK CHIEFS
Winnebago Leadership in an Era of Crisisby Mark Diedrich
Author Mark Diedrich presents the third work of his trilogy on upper Midwestern United States Indian leaders. Ho-Chunk Chiefs is now added to the previously published Famous Dakota Chiefs, Volume One, and Ojibway Chiefs.The Ho-Chunk, or Winnebago people lived over much of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois in the nineteenth century. American expansion brought about a painful episode in tribal history, which faced defeat in the War of 1812, numerous land cessions, smallpox, corrupt government agents, and devastating removals from one region to another. Ho-Chunk leaders tried to represent their people as best they could under disadvantageous circumstances, often traveling to Montreal (the Smokers) , Fort Malden (Nawkaw Caramani), Drummond"s Island (Four Legs and Walks Naked), and Washington (Waukon Decora, etc.) to meet with French, British,and American officials. They sought relief from their agents, due to corruption of government officials, white invasion of their lead lands, broken treaty promises, and war with the Sac and Fox. Others made war on the U.S., including Red Bird in 1827 and the Winnebago Prophet in 1832. Still others constantly resisted efforts by the government to remove them from Wisconsin, including Dandy, Yellow Thunder, and Short Wing Winneshiek. Some were noted for their wonderful oratorical ability, especially Dandy and Little Hill. One chief, Little Priest, became a captain of scouts for the U.S. army. Other outstanding leaders covered in this volumeare White Crow, Whirling Thunder, One Eyed Decora, Grayheaded DeCarrie, the Winnebago Black Hawk, Coming Thunder Winneshiek, and Baptiste Lassalieur. This is the first comprehensive, important, and seriously researched book about these leaders yet written. Diedrich also adds many of his pencil portraits to illustrate this collective biographical work.
[8.5 x 11, 200 pages, illustrated, maps, introduction, endnotes, bibliography, index;
paper, perfect bound, $29.95. ISBN 1-892415-C2-X]
SITTING BULL: THE COLLECTED SPEECHES
Compiled, edited, and illustrated by Mark Diedrich
“The introduction provides context for the untenable situations in which Sitting Bull, or Tatanka Iyotaka (ca. 1831-1890), often found himself as a leader who wanted to preserve Lakota culture and protect his people from Euro-American encroachment.. . . It certainly is a convenience to have these speeches gathered together. . . .This book succeeds in maintaining the great interest that continues to center upon the complicated and compassionate man we know as Sitting Bull. Diedrich picques our interest with page top quotations from each speech. He then sets the speeches in perspective with cultural and historical analyses of their significance. The overall effect is to help us understand the anguish Sitting Bull felt for his people, who faced both the loss of the buffalo and their freedom.” --Lawrence F. Van Horn, National Park Service,South Dakota History, Fall 1999
"My interest in the history and culture of the Plains Indians began several years ago when I found three detailed drawings by artist Bob Dale. One possibly that of Sitting Bull. Since then I have read a number of books by authors Robert Utley, Mari Sandoz and Dee Brown among others. I found Mark Diedrich's book, Sitting Bull The Collected Speeches, to be very interesting and insightful reading. His introduction, which is very well written and researched, details the charm and character that make up the "man" Sitting Bull. While reading the speeches, interviews, songs and prayers you see these characteristics come to life through Bull's words. I applaud Sitting Bull for being the proud leader that he was and for doing everthing in his power to speak against the injustices to his people. Unfortunately, Sitting Bull's words, now matter how powerfully or eloquently spoken, were no match for the greed and guns of the white man. I was glad to add this book to my "collection" and would recommend it to others."
--Kevin Laeder, at Amazon.com
[8.5 x 11, 190 pages, illustrated, footnotes, bibliography, paper, ISBN: 1-892415-00-3]
THE CHIEFS WAPAHASHA, THREE GENERATIONS OF DAKOTA LEADERSHIP, 1740-1876
By Mark Diedrich
Beginning with a talk with Wapahasha descendant Rod Steiner, this exciting new volume delves into the three generations of leadership provided to the Mdewakanton Dakotas by the Wapahasha chiefs. The first Wapahasha was a Dakota hero, who frequently traveled to Quebec from his homelands in present Minnesota to keep his tribe in favor with the French and British regimes in Canada. He fought alongside of the British in the American Revolutionary War, and was involved in the attack on St. Louis. In his latter years, he left his son with such prestige as to be accorded the title of first chief of the Dakota. Wapahasha II, a highly-skilled diplomat, joined in the Indian confederation plans of the Shawnee leader, Tecumthe, and aligned his tribe with the British to fight the Americans again during the War of 1812. Afterward, he and his Kiyuksa band lived for some 35 years at present Winona, Minnesota. His son, under the coercion of the U.S. government, signed treaties in 1851 and 1858, ceding all of Dakota land in present Minnesota. He eventually accepted acculturation and became a farmer and Christian, settling near Lower Sioux Agency. Although he opposed the Dakota War of 1862, he was exiled to Dakota Territory. Traveling to Washington a number of times, Wapahasha III sought justice and a reservation for his people, finally gaining the Santee Reservation of Nebraska for his descendants. Bishop Whipple called him the wisest Indian he knew.
"With The Chiefs Wapahasha, Mark Diedrich adds to his long list of works on Indians of the western Great Lakes region. In this study he focuses on three successive headmen named Wapahasha within the Lower Dakota bands. . . . Both Indian-white and inter-Indian relations receive attention as the author uses critical events such as the Santee Uprising of 1862 to frame and at times to compare the decisions made by each man. For Wapahasha III especially, Diedrich seeks to redeem the reputation of a leader who signed away large tractss of land and struggled to support his people in the aftermath of the 1862 conflict. . . ." --John P. Bowes, Annals of Iowa, Fall 2004
[8.5 x 11 in., 193 pages, 2004, illustrated, maps, notes, bibliography, index, paper, $26.95, ISBN 1-892415-C3-8]
LITTLE CROW AND THE DAKOTA WAR
(The Long Historical Coverups Exposed)
by Mark Diedrich
This book tells the story of the most famous chief of the Dakotas, Little Crow, also known as Ta-oyateduta (His Scarlet Nation), and Kangicistina. Since the chief’s notoriety stems mostly from his role in the Dakota War of 1862, the author has taken great effort to describe events that led up to the war, as well as the war itself and its aftermath. This is not simply another biography based on rampant speculation and secondary sources, or another version of the war story designed to horrify readers. Rather, the author, through much time and research, has sought to get to the bottom of the truth regarding the events of this troubled period in Indian-white relations (1851-1863). The key problem has been the heretofore unacknowledged inaccuracy of the official report regarding the war by Dakota agent Thomas J.Galbraith. It will be seen that he used the report to try to cover up things he had done or failed to do that helped bring on the war. In addition, the book exposes a decade-long collaboration of Indian Department officials and Minnesota politicians and traders, to systematically steal, manipulate, or coerce the Dakotas out of virtually everything they possessed. The outcome left the Dakotas starving to death. On August 18, 1862 Little Crow was at the head of the Dakota warriors, hoping against hope that through a determined war, he could salvage some kind of meaningful relationship with the U.S. government.But, failing that, he was prepare to die honorably on behalf of his nation. Unlike most historians, Diedrich argues that Little Crow was a patriot chief, well-deserving of historical reevaluation.
[8.5 x 11, 335 pages, 2006, illustrated, map, endnotes, bibliography, index, paper, $34.95 list. ISBN: 0-9616901-
8-6]
"[Diedrich's] . . . excellent portrayal of Dakota culture provides the historical setting for Little Crow's strong adherence to tribal tradition and resistance to the federal government's assimilation policy. In great detail, Diedrich skillfully describes the complexities of Dakota-white relations. . . . Diedrich challenges the longstanding portrayal of Little Crow as a feckless leader undistinguished in battle. He supports his claim with evidence of Little Crow's warrior exploits against the Dakotas' Indian enemies and his activities and strategy during the Dakota War. Furthermore, he calls attention to a false chronology that was contrived by wartime Dakota agent Thomas Galbraith to shift blame for the war from his own malfeasance to Little Crow. . . . I highly recommend this book." --William E. Lass, Annals of Iowa, Spring 2007
"This is a challenging work, but provides one of the most detailed portrayals of Little Crow . . . to date. . . . Diedrich makes contributions to the scholarship of an important person in Dakota country and a major incident in nineteenth century American history. His effort to revitalize the legacy of Little Crow is commendable, and the cultural context he offers contributes to complicating the more political portrayal in Gary Anderson's well-regarded biography. . . . Advanced students of history will welcome new dimensions to the portrayal of Little Crow, genealogists will appreciate the two-page appendix 'Little Crow's genealogy,' and researchers will value fifty pages of endnotes." --Robert W. Galler, Ramsey County History
"Little Crow ranks among the prominent American Indian leaders of the 19th century, but his role in the Dakota War of 1862 has been criticized and questioned by historians. Mark Diedrich analyzes the motivations behind various historical accounts in an attempt to present an unbiased and accurate picture of the man." --Minnesota Historical Society, internet bookstore
HEAD CHIEF OF THE DAKOTA ON THE FORT TOTTEN RESERVATION
by Mark Diedrich (with Louis Garcia)
This is the poignant biography of Chief Little Fish, a Dakota leader who has been greatly neglected by historians. Little Fish or Tiyowaste (Goodhouse) arose from the obscure status of being an abandoned French-Dakota mixed-blood to become the headman of a band which surrendered to the American authorities in 1867. He placed himself at the mercy of the government and began residing on the Fort Totten Reservation. His motto was: “With the right hand I cling to the cross; with my left hand I grasp the plow handle. I am con-vinced that our people can live and prosper only if they cleave to these two things.”During the early reservation years, Little Fish and his people faced semi-starvation conditions due to government neglect. They also endured the Government’s humiliating enforced acculturation policies. In spite of gross injustices, Little Fishled his people by his example: he learned the skills of farming, cabin-building, and teamstering. A plain-spoken orator, he always stood at the forefront of negotiations with the whites, hoping for fair-dealing and remuneration for a variety of broken treaty-promises. Living to the advanced age of ninety-four,Little Fish witnessed the coming of the railroad,the allotment, the opening of the reservation, and the great die-off caused by rampant tuberculosis, pneumonia, and trachoma. In his last years he wasa featured orator at the North Dakota Chautauqua,and before his death in 1919, the old buffalo hunter was getting around in his own automobile. Little Fish’s indomitable spirit was manifested through all the changes and disappointments.
Little Fish: [8.5 x 11, 118 pages, July 2009, illustrated, maps, endnotes, bibliography, index, paper, $24.95, ISBN: 1-892415-06-2]
MNI WAkAN OYATE (SPIRIT LAKE NATION)
A History of the Sisituwan, Wahpeton, Pabaksa,and other Dakota that settled at Spirit Lake, North Dakota
by Mark Diedrich
This lengthy volume tells the detailed story of the various Sisituwan, Wahpeton, Pabaksa (Cut Head), and other remnants of the Dakota tribe which eventually settled on the Spirit Lake Reservation in northeastern North Dakota. Once centered around Lake Traverse, these Dakota were avid buffalo hunters, who claimed the region north to Mni Wakan, or Spirit Lake (or the white man's "Devils Lake"). In the fall of 1862 war broke out on the Minnesota River reservation established by the Treaty of 1851, and some of the Northern Sisituwan and Cut Head bands participated in attacks on Fort Abercrombie. The resulting years saw the Dakota scattered all over the upper great plains. Eventually, U.S. military expeditions and peace commissions induced most to surrender. The Treaty of 1867 gave the Sisituwan, Wahpeton, and Pabaksa a reservation at Devils Lake. This book follows their story through the early years of semi starvation, enforced acculturation, military occupation, reservation encroachment, and allotment. As the Dakota became increasingly poor and landless, the Great Depression brought doubly depressed conditions. Many Dakota served during World War II, but came back to poverty and unemployment. Quite a number left in the 1950s, when the government sponsored their relocation. It was not until the mid-1960s that the Dakota began to get the help of federal monies and loans to upgrade conditions on the reservation. Jobs were finally brought to the reservation by the establishment of the Devils Lake Sioux Manufacturing Corporation in 1974. In the 1990s the tribe was able to build the successful Spirit Lake Casino and Resort. This book was commissioned by Cankdeska Cikana Community College of the Spirit Lake Reservation at Fort Totten, North Dakota, and was published by that organization in 2007. Copies might be obtained from the college.
ISBN: 978-0-9799000-0-6
"This book, a treasure trove of historic stories, will prove to have been an important additional step toward rebuilding the sovereignty of the Spirit Lake Nation, and in preserving crucial historical memories of its members. Its structre reflect the oral narrative tradition and no future historical study of Fort Totten can afford to ignore the stories it weaves." --Sebastian Braun, North Dakota History, Summer 2010
Ignatius Court,
“Dakota Congressman "
of the Fort Totten Reservation
by Mark Diedrich (with Louis Garcia)
Ignatius Court (1867-1941) was one of the most outstanding Dakota leaders in the post-reservation period. A full-blooded Dakota of Wahpeton heritage, he lived during a difficult time of transition for his people on the Fort Totten, North Dakota, Reservation,and became one of the most progressive and intellectual of American Indians who were seeking to advance the cause of their peoples with the U.S. government. Promoting the Sisseton and Wahpeton Claims Cases as his major life’s work, he is believed to have traveled to Washington, D.C., fifty times. In addition to this, he was occupied with an incredible number of simultaneous and successive occupations. With but a high school education, he became a manager and owner of a Tokio mercantile, a printer, editor, and translator for a Catholic missionary paper, a farmer, postmaster for Fort Totten, an interpreter for the Fort Totten Agency, U.S. District Court, and Catholic Indian congresses, a judge in the Court of Indian Offenses, a judge in the Fort Totten precinct, a teacher at the Fort Totten Industrial School, a Knight of Columbus, a president of the tribal council, a president of the Catholic council of St. Joseph societies, a catechist of the Catholic Church, and other offices. Forgotten by historians, Ignatius Court’s amazing life is herein given some amount of revelation. As one Dakota said in 1941, “[Ignatius Court] . . . has been a leader of his people, the outstanding leader of the two Dakotas. He was entitled to recognition as chief of his tribe and, though not formally designated a chief, he was in truth their chief and acknowledged leader."
Ignatius Court: [8.5 x 11, 198 pages, October 2009, illustrated, map, endnotes, bibliography, appendix, index, paper, $29.95]
LITTLE PAUL
Christian Leader of the Dakota Peace Party
by Mark Diedrich
Little Paul Mazakutemani was a pivotal figure in the nineteenth century history of the Dakota. Born in about 1811, Paul spent the first twenty-nine years of his life as a typical buffalo hunting Wahpeton Dakota on the plains around Big Stone Lake and Lac qui Parle. But in the mid-1830s missionaries Thomas S. Williamson and Stephen R. RIggs established the Lac qui Parle Presbyterian Mission and Paul was converted to Christ. In addition to his profession of faith, Paul boasted that he was the first Dakota "to go to work [farming] for a living," and the first "to put on the white man's clothes." He considered himself a "white man," and thus pioneered the "middle ground" between the Dakota and white cultures.
Based upon his Christian faith, Paul helped establish the Hazelwood Republic, an independent band of Dakota, committed to farming and following the white man's customs of living and dress. In 1856 he became the group's first "president." The following year he achieved notoriety for heroism in effecting the rescue of young Abbie Gardner from captivity among the Yanktonai. The biggest event of Paul's life was the six week Dakota War of 1862. During the conflict, Paul proved himself to be not only a courageous Christian, but the leading spokesman of the Dakota Peace Party. With his native oratorical ability, he continually argued with Little Crow and the pro-war leaders at the risk of his life. He enabled the growth of the Dakota Peace Party, which obstructed the war effort and eventually gained possession of almost 300 white and mixed-blood women and children captives. Paul then served as a scout for the Sibley and Thomas expeditions of 1863 and 1864. By 1868 he settled down at Long Hollow on the Sisseton Reservation, where he built his cabin, farmed and was active in church affairs. He died in 1885. [8.5 x 11, 232 pages, January 2010, maps, photos, illustrations, endnotes, bibliography, index, paper, ISBN: 1-89245-05-4]
"The more we examine the Dakota-U.S. War of 1862, the more complex we find the people, motivations and events. If we have learned anything in the past 25 years it is that the story if vastly more complicated than the majority of history published before 1987. Part of this realization is due to work of authors like Mark Diedrich. Diedrich has made a career of publishing biographies of Little Crow, Hole-in-the-Day and teh several Wabashas. . . . The [Little Paul] biography begins with a considerable amount of context . . . . In doing so, the author highlights the diversity of the Dakota the removes them from the confines of group generalization. . . . Diedrich uses Mazakuteman's life as the axis for the complex story of how the Dakota struggled with white hegemony. The book is in many ways as much about the struggles to resist or comply with the multiple pressures placed on the Dakota by the whites. . . . Diedrich's biography provides the modern reader with rich material that increases our awareness of the complexity of this important era in Minnesota history." --Thomas G. Shaw,Minnesota's Heritage, July 2010