This is a great entry in the genre of “history of those who had to share the continent with America”—a solid entry in not letting the winners write all the history books.

It makes the persuasive case that the Lakota from the mid-1700s to mid-1800s were meaningfully an empire (albeit of smaller numbers than we usually think of when we use that word) across a vast area of land and a number of smaller cultures. It conquered and controlled native neighbors, and negotiated military and economic deals with the French, British, and eventually the US, making it a powerful and truly independent actor. That is, until the encircling tide of the railroads, European-descended population growth, discovery of Dakota gold, and the collapse of the buffalo herds ended their self-sufficiency.

I have some nits to pick with the book. In particular, I wish it had done a better job supporting the motives that are read into the Lakota, or acknowledging that perhaps some of that is speculation. And I also wish it had done more to interrogate the Lakota’s relationship to the thinning buffalo herds—in all other areas, the book goes to great lengths to give the Lakotas agency (very commendable!) but in the area of this ecological devastation, it simply seems to “happen to” the Lakota even though they’re a primary actor in sending hundreds of thousands of bison to their deaths every year.

Still, these are small quibbles in an otherwise dense but powerful book. Highly recommended for anyone trying to get a better, more complete grasp of American history, and/or thinking about how economics, demography, and technology can impact the relationship of one culture to another.