38 Nooses

Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier's End

By: Scott W. Berg

Narrated by: Paul Heitsch

In August 1862, after decades of broken treaties, increasing hardship, and relentless encroachment on their lands, a group of Dakota warriors convened a council at the tepee of their leader, Little Crow. Knowing the strength and resilience of the young American nation, Little Crow counseled caution, but anger won the day. Forced to either lead his warriors in a war he knew they could not win or leave them to their fates, he declared, "[Little Crow] is not a coward: he will die with you."

So began six weeks of intense conflict along the Minnesota frontier as the Dakotas clashed with settlers and federal troops. Once the uprising was smashed and the Dakotas captured, a military commission was convened, which quickly found more than 300 Indians guilty of murder. President Lincoln personally intervened in order to spare the lives of 265 of the condemned men, but the toll on the Dakota nation was still staggering: a way of life destroyed, a tribe forcibly relocated to barren and unfamiliar territory, and 38 Dakota warriors hanged.

Written with uncommon immediacy and insight, 38 Nooses details these events within the larger context of the Civil War, the history of the Dakota people, and the subsequent United States-Indian wars. It is a revelation of an overlooked but seminal moment in American history.

©2012 Scott W. Berg (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

When accountability is lost and blame is always outward and never inward.

The story is told through multiple backgrounds and lenses of those who lived through the experience. As the author is telling the story of the Minnesota conflict - the reader continues to be updated with other tasks pulling on President Lincoln at the time.

While being told to give up their ways and to assimilate - many did that. Starving, not having what was promised - a spark develops when a few young warriors decisions ignited the next great US conflict which still plagues the US this day.

As the listener engages in the story they can see how perceptions and misunderstandings continued to escalate the conflict. As the war rages on, one can see the continual conflict Little Crow faces as he becomes a leader for a movement he didn’t necessarily agree with how it was unfolding.

Well-written and performed but missing a significant part of the story

This book was well-written and easy to follow. It seemed well-researched. I found the narration easy to listen to. I was disappointed that the author quickly brushed over most of the events of the Sioux uprising itself to dwell more on the retribution and other events that followed. The reader needs to keep in mind that the people in this book lived in a very different time than our own, with different life experiences and different standards. I did appreciate how the author wove the story into the other significant events of the time, mainly the Civil War.

fantastic book

Scott Berg's research and writing in this book are extraordinary, the reader is great. I listened to the book and recommended it to a friend who also bought it, listened to it, and loved it. Highly recommend.

So complete!!

Anyone looking for an accurate account of this chapter in Minnesota, US and Dakota history, this is a must read/listen!

Little-known history made clear

Great research into one of the lesser-known and -understood episodes of the Lincoln era. Recommended reading for anyone interested in the Indian Wars period or justice as applied to American Indians.