- How did Lakota Culture change over the 19th century? What effect did the white culture have on that culture through the century?
- What was the traditional Lakota manner of fighting, and what values did it highlight? Why did this style of warfare not work against white troops, what lessons does Utley think Sitting Bull should have learned from this?
- Describe Sitting Bull’s three “personalities”. Discuss the stance he took on whites, and compare it to Red Cloud. Which one did you think was right, why?
- What were the principal interests of the US government with the Sioux territory? How did America generally react to Sitting Bull’s resistance? How did the US government deal with him, and what eventually breaks his resistance?
- What is the significance of the Ghost Dance religion, and the death of Sitting Bull? What do you think of Utley’s opinion that Sitting Bull lost because of cause beyond his control?