The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull

by Robert M. Utley

"His narrative is griping....Mr. Utley transforms Sitting Bull, the abstract, romanticized icon and symbol, into a flesh-and-blood person with a down-to-earth story....THE LANCE AND THE SHIELD clears the screen of the exaggerations and fantasies long directed at the name of Sitting Bull."
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
Reviled by the United States government as a troublemaker and a coward, revered by his people as a great warrior chief, Sitting Bull has long been one of the most fascinating and misunderstood figures in American history. Now, distinguished historian Robert M. Utley has forged a compelling new portrait of Sitting Bull, viewing the man from the Lakota perspective for the very first time to render the most unbiased and historically accurate biography of Sitting Buil to date.
WINNER OF THE SPUR AWARD FOR BEST WESTERN NONFICTION
HISTORICAL BOOK OF 1993
A MAIN SELECTIN OF THE HISTORY BOOK CLUB
A FEATURED ALTERNATE SELECTION OF THE QUALITY PAPERBACK BOOK
CLUB

Genres: History, Biography, Native American, Nonfiction, American History, Native Americans, Westerns

413 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

A specialist in Native American history and the history of the American West, Robert Marshall Utley was a former chief historian of the National Park Service. He earned a Bachelor of Science in history from Purdue University in 1951, and an Master of Arts in history from Indiana University in 1952. Utley served as Regional Historian of the Southwest Region of the NPS in Santa Fe from 1957 to 1964, and as Chief Historian in Washington, D.C. from 1964 until his retirement in 1980.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent biography of the great Lakota leader Sitting Bull written by Robert Utley, former National Parks historian and author of many books about the West. I knew a lot about the Lakota/Sioux and especially about their great victory over Custer at the Little Bighorn. But I had never read a biography of Sitting Bull and this one seems definitive to me.
Sitting Bull was born around 1831 in the tribe of the Hunkpapas, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota. These people occupied the great buffalo-rich high plains and their life was centered on the buffalo. As we follow Sitting Bull's growth into manhood, becoming one of the great warriors of his people, we learn about the society and religion of the Hunkpapa.
Sitting Bull became a great spiritual leader of his people as well as a warrior. He had a vision of the bluecoat soldiers falling into the Lakota camps--and that's what happened on June 25, 1876, as Custer was destroyed by the Lakota and their Northern Cheyenne allies. Unfortunately, Sitting Bull believed that the great victory of his people would bring peace to the high plains but that was not to be. The rout of the 7th Cavalry only made the US government more determined to crush the "Indians" and force them to live on the reservation. In the following year, the Lakota were defeated and on the run. Sitting Bull with some of his followers went to Canada to escape the vengeance of the bluecoats.
I didn't know much about Sitting Bull's stay in Canada. That was interesting. However, he and other Lakota were unable to stay there and returned to the United States. It was also interesting to read about his life on "the Great Sioux Reservation" in Dakota Territory and how he tried to maintain his leadership of a defeated and dispirited people. I think it's fairly well-known about Sitting Bull that he joined "Buffalo Bill" Cody's Wild West Show. The two men became friends.
On the reservation, Sitting Bull was seen by the whites as a man who was a "troublemaker," determined to keep to the old ways. Actually, Sitting Bull became interested in farming and supported education for the children. But he held fast to his spiritual beliefs and did not become a Christian. Then, in 1890, there was word of a Messiah for the "Indian" people. A Paiute holy man, Wovoka, had a message for all Native Americans. He prescribed "the Ghost Dance" as a way to remove the whites from America and have all the game, especially the buffalo--and, in fact, all the richness of nature that the Indians had known before the coming of the whites-- return. As the Ghost Dance gained a following among a desperate people, white authorities feared a resumption of war. While Sitting Bull was not a supporter of the Ghost Dance, he did not oppose it either. It was decided to arrest Bull and imprison him rather than risk having the Lakota leader become involved with the new religious movement. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian police sent to arrest him at his cabin. A fight broke out between the police and some of Bull's followers and a policeman's shot killed Sitting Bull. A few weeks later, a group of Lakota who left the reservation were slaughtered at Wounded Knee. The Indian Wars were over.

[Lynny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most comprehensive and thoroughly researched book about Sitting Bull out there. If you want to know the real story about this great leader, read this book!

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love stories of the Indian experience this is excellent. Sad and informative read. I have a hard copy that is destined for a library. Any one want it?

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into the fight of the Sioux, led by Sitting Bull, to keep their culture and lands against the theft by white settlers.

The actions of the U.S. government can be summed up by this quote from the book: "They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never kept but one; they promised to take our land and they took it."

The author describes Sitting Bull as the embodiment of the Hunkpapa tribe of Lakota Sioux: a fierce warrior, wise leader, generous, and a holy man. Yet, author Utley does not romanticize the Sioux; he details a culture which derives male identity significantly through warfare especially against traditional enemy tribes, a culture so engrained it was impossible for Indian tribes to unite against white settlers.

This book has caused me to think about a person never mentioned in the book: Abraham Lincoln. In 1862, the discovery of gold in the headwaters of the Missouri River caused a flow of whites to Sioux lands. Along with the whites were soldiers to protect them and enforce the theft of lands. I have been thinking how under Lincoln's administration during the Civil War, it was nevertheless seen as important to divert soldiers to ensure westward expansion.

[Thomas Isern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-reading a classic, impressed once again with the judgment and authority Utley brings to his subject. It is interesting to note how Utley re-threshes the Walter Stanley Camp material at OU and comes to his own conclusions with it. There are usages and sometimes positions expressed in the book that are a bit dated, and in some cases, I simply disagree, on the basis of alternative evidence, with positions taken by Utley, but what a landmark this work is! This is how a white guy should write Indian biography. For me, on this reading, the most interesting parts were late, dealing with the Canadian sojourn and the (mostly sad) reservation period. Now, on our next expedition to Saskatchewan, I want to go over some of the ground to which the work points. Likewise, on my next trip to Standing Rock, I will go with questions and destinations in mind.

[Hank Hoeft]

The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull is a thorough, meticulously-researched, and scrupulously balanced account of a man whose life and personality have been distorted in both directions—both scurrilously denigrated and worshipfully lionized—a process that began long before his death. This is understandable, as the struggle between the indigenous natives and European settlers and their descendants for the control of a vast continent was a long and bloody story, with ruthlessness and savagery on both sides, exacerbated when the two sides belong to vastly different cultures that hardly ever understood each other. And when Sitting Bull stands as both a paragon of his culture and undeniably the most influential spiritual and political leader in it, then distortion (and elevation to legendary status) is inevitable, as it is for, say, a George Washington or an Abraham Lincoln or a Robert E. Lee. The exemplary job Robert Utley does is perhaps summed up in the last words of the book: “He [Sitting Bull] was a real Indian, and a great person, completely faithful to his culture. He earned greatness as a Hunkpapa patriot, steadfastly true to the values and principles and institutions that guided his tribe. In this guise, not as some generic ideal Indian of the popular imagination, his memory achieves contemporary significance.”

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best biography of Sitting Bull I have read. Exhaustively researched and well written.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great detail of Sitting Bull's life, but as with most histories and biographies, it's a bit dry in places. Also, some of the wording was a bit cumbersome. Overall a good, thorough history.

[Debbie Crossland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I work for the Fort Buford historical site in ND. I wanted to read more on Sitting Bull. This book tries to portray the indian way of thinking and part of their culture both from the Indian point of view and the whites point of view. What I have learned is a white nation that would lie and steal for greed. As sitting Bull vision revealed. The eagel would rule all. The eagle is on the American dollar. Money rules. And we are a nation that wants and wants and gets.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well researched history book, I just wish it was not such a dry read. It does have some parts that are based on speculation and other parts that are taken straight from other books. The book has a couple patches of pictures. Overall good book just lacks emotion and follow up on a few accounts.

[Keith W · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is difficult to imagine that there will ever be a better biography of Sitting Bull, the great warrior and chief of not just the Hunkpapa Sioux but the entire Sioux nation. Robert Utley did exhaustive research, which he sets forth in exquisite detail in the endnotes for each chapter, and then narrates Sitting Bull's life in crystalline prose. I was very impressed with the soundness of all of Mr. Utley's judgments and conclusions about various aspects of Sitting Bull's interesting and exciting life. The great Hunkpapa warrior's life wound down and ended tragically, as he and his followers had to give up a life of freedom (but deprivation) in Canada to surrender to the U.S. Army at Fort Buford, ND, endure isolation at Fort Randall and then experience pressure to conform at the Standing Rock agency from agent James McLaughlin, a complex character who gave the order for Sitting Bull's arrest that resulted in his death. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Native Americans and/or the American West. You will not be disappointed.

[Alex Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and certainly worth a read by anyone interested in obtaining vital yet unsentimental insight into a formative time in the history of the United States. Will also be helpful to the reader in catching a glimpse of the mechanisms by which conquering cultures often decimate the cultures whom they vanquish.

In this biography Utley manages his topic adroitly. He uses a relatively light touch to treat the large, complex questions with unassuming poignancy and objectivity, while simultaneously bringing a bridled vitality to his undertaking.

Overall a compelling, soundly researched, sympathetic portrait of a tragedy of history, a singular man and his culture under siege; outgunned, outmanned, outmanoeuvred and ultimately overwhelmed by forces and imperatives far beyond his control.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting biography of the Sioux medicine man who engineered Custer's defeat and led his tribe to Canada.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting character and history - but a bit slow and stale in writing by Utley, had hoped for better.

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enlightening and packed with many history-correcting information, however, the flow of sentences made following the author's thoughts, facts and impressions difficult.

[Tamara aka SoMysteriousLee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book while on a semi-cross country tour with family in 1994. We toured the battlefield and all adults felt weary at such a waste of life. I read it immediately when we camped, then gifted it to my father, who read it so much it had to be repaired and rebound. His recent death meant that I got all my books back as well as the rest of his book collection. What a wonderful way to keep him in my life, I must say.

Back to the review. Heart-wrenching, insightful and remarkable is how I'd describe most of it. Wanting his people not to kowtow to white ways and become slaves to the government, he was a visionary and leader who truly believed in culture and holding on to the sacred ideas that were the foundation of his nation.

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utley does an excellent job of portraying Sitting Bull as a complex human being. His support of the case against Bull's murder is a bit weak, relying as it does on the testimony of the accused individuals. But as a whole the work is thorough, approachable, and engaging. Shedding light on both the man and his times. Extra points for covering Bull's time in Canada and on the reservation. Recommended for those interested in the American Indian Wars, Indians of the Northern Plains, and of course Sitting Bull and the Hunkpapa Sioux.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt like a tough read for me, but the overall story of Sitting Bull is important. I am glad to have read it. The book is footnoted and the author has background to garner professional resources to write this story of Sitting Bull. A friend loaned me the book which he purchased used for $3.00.

[Randal Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an informative and enjoyable read.

[Susan Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book was a bit slow in places, it did offer new insights into the Ghost Dance movement of 1890 as well as the Battle of Little Big Horn. Well worth the read.

[Lance Petry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read about the legendary chief. Utley goes into great detail of Sitting Bull's life.

[Wayne Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was great! It gives a detailed account of Sitting Bull's life.

[Shannon Murray]

Highly recommend !!

[Joe Hauglie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story of a great man. But very long nonetheless.

[Carolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This biography stuck with me through the decades.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by "the dean of Western historians," the late Robert M. Utley, "The Lance and the Shield" is the definitive biography of the Lakota Sioux chief, Sitting Bull.

[Brian Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had a paperback copy of this book in my possession for a couple of years. I picked it up second hand somewhere but never got around to reading it.
I actually haven't even finished the book but I'm on the last chapter and I felt compelled to write a quick review. This book is an amazing account not just of Sitting Bull and his times but of his way of thinking and the Sioux way of doing things. Popular culture has diluted this man and created a caricature of him that's hard to shake but the author does a good job, warts and all. The book is packed full of detail but is easy to read and heavily sourced. I do however wish the author included more about his time with Cody's Wild West Show.
Near the end, I learned of his friendship with Indian advocate Catherine Weldon and discovered there is a book about her and a movie based on that book has just been released in September 2012 but I'm having trouble locating the 2002 book Woman Walking Ahead by Eileen Pollack at a reasonable price. It also seems like the movie is currently seeking US distribution.
This is one of those books I'll be sad when it ends! Will we ever get a proper movie biopic of Sitting Bull?

[Lee Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this history of the great Sioux war chief and medicine man fascinating. The story of the western expansion of the United States is, sadly, intertwined with the subjugation and suppression of Native American cultures.
We Americans may not be comfortable with this truth but we must acknowledge it. The natives who conducted raids against white settlements on the frontier may be called “hostiles” but even a cursory review of the broken promises and forsaken treaties of the 19th century will lead the unbiased student of history to conclude that a better word for them is “partisans.”
Utley has for decades been a fair and unbiased teller of western stories. Sitting Bull was a partisan freedom fighter for his people. His story needs to be remembered and retold. The Native American cultures deserve to be more than the names of American towns. These nations still exist in greatly diminished form and they must be honored for what they represent. When we criticize Russia or China for oppression against ethnic minorities it would be a good idea for us to remember our own origins.

[Samuel Valentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I liked about this book was the use of primary sources, especially the interviews with people who had actually known Sitting Bull. There were also the army accounts, interviews with Sitting Bull himself, contemporary news accounts, etc., that really made this a valuable resource.

One other thing that I liked, or rather, learned to my dismay, was how bad the Native Americans really had it. All my life I've known that the whites had treated them badly, but it was usually framed in a way that moralized about it, which somehow didn't convey it as well. In this book, the author is more intent on describing the historical events, rather than offering opinions on it, which throws into sharper relief how ruthless and relentless the whites were. It's a good book but very sobering and sad that it happened at all.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is comprehensive, well researched, and highly documented. This book is an easy and fun read but took me a long time because I read each reference he cited. As a result I came away feeling that this book is probably one of the best written about Sitting Bull and the Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux Indians.

If you're interested in the Sioux Tribes I'd say this is one of the books you must read. It is loaded with historical and cultural information that I found highly creditable.

I have work extensively as a Senior Policy Advisor and Tribal Liaison for a federal agency doing goveremt-to-government consultation for seventeen years and this is the Tribe I've worked with most. The were also the first - I highly recommend this book.