Beard was not only a witness to two major battles against the Lakota; he also traveled with William ÒBuffalo BillÓ CodyÕs Wild West show, worked as a Hollywood Indian, and witnessed the grand transformation of the Black Hills into a tourism mecca. Beard spent most of his later life fighting to reclaim his homeland and acting as Òold Dewey Beard,Ó a living relic of the Òold WestÓ for the tourists.
With a keen eye for detail and a true storytellerÕs talent, Philip Burnham presents the man behind the legend of Dewey Beard and shows how the life of the last survivor of Little Bighorn provides a glimpse into the survival of Indigenous America.
Philip Burnham is an assistant professor of composition at George Mason University and a former reporter for Indian Country Today. He is the author of So Far from Dixie: Confederates in Yankee Prisons and Indian Country, GodÕs Country: Native Americans and the National Parks.