Journal of the Indian Wars

Book excerpt: Journal of the Indian Wars, or JIW was a quarterly publication on the study of the American Indian Wars. Before JIW, no periodical dedicated exclusively to this fascinating topic was available. JIW's focus was on warfare in the United States, Canada, and the Spanish borderlands from 1492 to 1890. Published articles also include personalities, policy, and military technologies. JIW was designed to satisfy both professional and lay readers with original articles of lasting value and a variety of columns of interest, plus book reviews, all enhanced with maps and illustrations. JIW's lengthy essays of substance are presented in a fresh and entertaining manner. Most readers of the Civil War and Indian War history know that a small force of Indians participated in the Battle of Pea Ridge; John Pope was banished to Minnesota after his disastorous performance at Second Bull Run to face the rebellious Sioux; Stand Watie and Ely Parker rose to high rank in the Confederate and Union armies, respectively; and a region labeled simply "Indian Territory" existed somewhere in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. All true. Yet the situation of American Indians during the Civil War period was much more complex, their fate more devastating and far-reaching than most students appreciate. Each of the articles in this issue underscore this point. In this edition: Foreword Firm but Fair: The Minnesota Volunteers and the Coming of the Dakota War of 1862 The Most Terrible Stories: The 1862 Dakota Conflict in White Imagination Chiefs by Commission: Stand Watie and Ely Parker Flowing with Blood and Whiskey: Stand Watie and the Battles of First and Second Cabin Creek Nations Asunder: Western American Indian Experiences During the Civil War, 1861-1865, Part I Interview: A Conversation with Battlefield Interpreter Doug Keller Features: Wisconsin's 1832 Black Hawk Trail The Indian Wars: Organizational, Tribal, and Museum News Thomas Online: Daughters of the Lance: Native American Women Warriors Book Reviews Index