Written by the wife of an army officer, who had the advantage of long-term residency among the Indians. The book was compiled over the course of seven years in the 1840s at Fort Snelling, in what would one day become Minnesota Territory, ‘Dahcotah Or, Life And Legends Of The Sioux’ was a groundbreaking look into Sioux (Dakota) customs and manners from a long-term observer. Nowadays the book is republished in a new edition. It has a biographical preface about author Mary Eastman and featuring the quality painted landscapes of the original reproduced in color, ‘Dahcotah Or, Life And Legends Of The Sioux’ retains its unique keen insight and attention to detail that distinguished it over one hundred and fifty years ago. Though Dahcotah is not an entirely unbiased account - for one thing, the author was a devout Christian who wished to see all Native Americans converted to her religion - yet it is written with empathy and sorrow for the sufferings of the Dahcotah people, retold in individual stories as well as broad descriptions, and deserves its reputation as a frontier classic.