The War with the Sioux: Norwegians against Indians 1862-1863

The Dakota War (1862-1864) stands among the most overlooked conflicts in American History. Contemporary with the American Civil War, the Dakota War featured significant fighting, tactical brilliance, and strategic savvy set in the open plains of Minnesota and North Dakota. Karl Jakob Starstein's The War with the Sioux tells the story of the Norwegian immigrants, American soldiers, and Lakota and Dakota Indians as they fought to protect their families, communities, and way of life. Translated from Norwegian and supplemented with new introductions by Melissa Gjellstad, Richard Rothaus, and Dakota Goodhouse, this work draws upon the diaries, letters, and newpapers of Norwegian immigrants for a new perspective on the Northern Plains during these tumultuous years. Skarstein's work makes an important contribution to the growing body of scholarship on this conflict and offers an accessible and surprisingly intimate view of the conflict through the eyes of Norwegian settlers in the region.