Review of Our Hearts Fell to the Ground: Plains Indian Views of How the West Was Lost Edited with an Introduction by Colin G. Calloway

Authors

Emily Greenwald, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Date of this Version

Winter 1998

Citation

Great Plains Quarterly Vol. 18, No. 1, Winter 1998, pp. 48.

Comments

Copyright 1998 by the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Abstract

The latest entry in the Bedford Series in History and Culture combines primary documents with Colin Calloway's contextual commentary to produce a readable, informative glimpse into Plains Indians' experiences in the nineteenth century, easily accessible to the non-specialist. The documents (mostly textual with some visual sources) are drawn from a spectrum of observers from a wide variety of tribes. The volume lends itself nicely to teaching, particularly because Calloway ably instructs readers how to dissect complex historical sources.

Following a quick survey of Plains history, Calloway ends his introduction by discussing the various types of sources compiled in the book and the challenges each poses for interpretation. Many of the documents were translated and recorded by non-Indians, and Calloway explains the narrative strategies and motivations of both parties to these collaborations. A reader paying close attention to this section will be better able to analyze the documents and glean useful information from them, not only about Plains Indian life, but also about the nature of the historical record. Along the same lines, Calloway provides a detailed preface for each of the primary sources. He explains the genesis of each account, carefully noting dates, historical context, who gave the information, and who actually did the writing. Calloway also calls the reader's attention to key aspects of the document, so students and non-specialists should have little trouble determining its significance.

The only significant shortcoming of the book is its typesetting. Calloway's comments and the document texts run together, printed in the same typeface with only an italicized title and a horizontal bar signifying the start of an actual document. The publishers would do well to offer clearer signals to the reader.

Part of the subtitle-How the West Was Lost-may lead casual perusers to think that Calloway has structured this collection to affirm the popular narrative of Indian conquest and victimization. While Calloway is realistic about losses of land and political autonomy, he approaches the overall history much more subtly. The epilogue clarifies his perception that Native American history is also about change and choices made in the face of change. Calloway leaves readers with the understanding that land loss is not the end of the story for· Plains Indian people.

In his topical choices, Calloway has focused some chapters on specific Plains groups (Mandans, Lakotas, Pawnees) while others deal with a theme common to many Plains people (disease, horses, warfare). Readers will not come away from this book feeling they know any of the tribes well, but this is not Calloway's goal. Instead, he strives to present Indians' perspectives on Plains history, and in doing so he provides a useful counterpoint to more widely reproduced Euro-American observations. The book pulls together Indian accounts not normally available to general readers and packages them into a useful volume made accessible by Calloway's thorough commentaries.