The Last Sovereigns: Sitting Bull & The Resistance of the Free Lakotas

Robert M. Utley

Aug 2021 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Bob Souer

About this audiobook

The Last Sovereigns is the story of how Sioux chief Sitting Bull resisted the white man's ways as a last best hope for the survival of an indigenous way of life on the Great Plains-a nomadic life based on buffalo and indigenous plants scattered across the Sioux's historical territories that were sacred to him and his people. Robert M. Utley explores the final four years of Sitting Bull's life of freedom, from 1877 to 1881. To escape American vengeance for his assumed role in the annihilation of General George Armstrong Custer's command at the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull led his Hunkpapa following into Canada. The Mounties welcomed the Lakota and permitted them to remain if they promised to abide by the laws and rules of Queen Victoria, the White Mother. But the Canadian government wanted the Indians to return to their homeland and the police made every effort to persuade them to leave. They were aided by the diminishing herds of buffalo on which the Indians relied for sustenance and by the aggressions of Canadian Native groups that also relied on the buffalo. Sitting Bull and his people endured hostility, tragedy, heartache, indecision, uncertainty, and starvation and responded with stubborn resistance to the loss of their freedom and way of life. In the end, starvation doomed their sovereignty. This is their story.

About the author

Robert M. Utley is the award-winning author of more than twenty books on western American history, including Sitting Bull and Lone Star Lawmen. He made his career in the National Park Service, rising to the position of chief historian and assistant director of the service. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Bob Souer is a full-time professional storyteller and narrator. He has narrated numerous audiobooks, as well as broadcast and nonbroadcast projects for corporations and ministries across North America. You've heard Bob's voice on CBS, PBS, the History Channel, and many other networks.