The Frontier Newspapers and the Coverage of the Plains Indian Wars

Hugh J. Reilly

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9780313354403
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780313354410
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: Social Sciences

This book offers a revealing look at how newspapers covered the key events of the Plains Indian Wars between 1862-1891—reporting that offers some surprising viewpoints as well as biases and misrepresentations.

The Frontier Newspapers and the Coverage of the Plains Indian Wars takes readers back to the late 19th century to show how newspaper reporting impacted attitudes toward the conflict between the United States and Native Americans.

Emphasizing primary sources and eyewitness accounts, the book focuses on eight watershed events between 1862 and 1891—the Great Sioux Uprising in Minnesota, the Sand Creek Massacre, the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, the Flight of the Nez Perce, the Cheyenne Outbreak, the Trial of Standing Bear, and the Massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 and its aftermath. Each chapter examines an individual event, analyzing the balance and accuracy of the newspaper coverage and how the reporting of the time reinforced stereotypes about Native Americans.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Frontier Newspapers
• 1. Great Sioux Uprising: August–December 1862
• 2. Sand Creek Massacre: November 1864
• 3. Fort Laramie Treaty: 1868
• 4. The Little Big Horn Campaign: January–July 1876
• 5. The Flight of the Nez Perce: March–October 1877
• 6. The Cheyenne Outbreak: September 1878–January 1879
• 7. The Standing Bear Trial: April–May 1879
• 8. Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee: 1890–1891
• 9. Closing the Circle
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index