A Cheyenne Voice – The Complete John Stands in Timber Interviews

Rarely does a primary source become available that provides new and significant information about the history and culture of a famous American Indian tribe. With A Cheyenne Voice, readers now have access to a vast ethnographic and historical trove about the Cheyenne people—much of it previously unavailable.

A Cheyenne Voice contains the complete transcribed interviews conducted by anthropologist Margot Liberty with Northern Cheyenne elder John Stands In Timber (1882–1967). Recorded by Liberty in 1956–1959 when she was a schoolteacher on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana, the interviews were the basis of the well-known 1967 book Cheyenne Memories. While that volume is a noteworthy edited version of the interviews, this volume presents them word for word, in their entirety, for the first time. Along with memorable candid photographs, it also features a unique set of maps depicting movements by soldiers and warriors at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Drawn by Stands In Timber himself, they are reproduced here in full color.

The diverse topics that Stands In Timber addresses range from traditional stories to historical events, including the battles of Sand Creek, Rosebud, and Wounded Knee. Replete with absorbing, and sometimes even humorous, details about Cheyenne tradition, warfare, ceremony, interpersonal relations, and everyday life, the interviews enliven and enrich our understanding of the Cheyenne people and their distinct history.

John Stands In Timber served as tribal historian for the Northern Cheyennes.

Margot Liberty, widely known as an anthropologist specializing in Northern Plains Indians and ranching culture, is the author, coauthor, or editor of Cheyenne Memories, with John Stands In Timber; A Northern Cheyenne Album, with photographs by Thomas B. Marquis; Working Cowboy: Recollections of Ray Holmes; A Cheyenne Voice: The Complete John Stands In Timber Interviews; and Songs and Snippets: Poems of Margot Liberty.

Raymond J. DeMallie is Chancellor's Professor of Anthropology and American Indian Studies at Indiana University.

Michael N. Donahue is the author of Drawing Battle Lines: The Map Testimony of Custer's Last Fight.