Changing Military Patterns of the Great Plains Indians

Frank Raymond Secoy wrote this classic work while at Columbia University in the early 1950s. In his introduction, John C. Ewers considers the influence of Secoy's book on scholars since its original publication in 1953. Ethnologist emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution, Ewers is the author of The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture (1955), Blackfeet: Their Art and Culture (1987), and other works.

"This work gives an excellent picture not only of the changing military patterns ... from the early part of the seventeenth century through the early part of the nineteenth century, but it also gives a vivid picture of the impact of the Spanish, French, and English cul-tures upon the lives and customs of the Indians who inhabited the Great Plains."--Chronicles of Oklahoma. " As a historical study covering not only tribal changes, conflicts and movements, but also the effect of horse and gun on the balance of power and on the fur trade, this is both interesting and stimulating reading."--New Mexico Historical Review. "Carefully documented and well-written... an excellent and interesting work."--Southwestern Historical Quar-terly.