In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse (2015) is a novel by Joseph Marshall III. It tells the story of 11-year-old Jimmy McClean, who discovers his Lakota cultural roots with the help of his grandfather, Nyles High Eagle. As Jimmy travels the country and learns more about himself, he dives into the history of Crazy Horse and the Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains, who fought in the American Frontier Wars of the 1800s. Connecting Jimmy and Crazy Horse through The Journey of Personal Growth and Understanding, the novel explores The Importance of Cultural Heritage and Identity, while Jimmy sees The Value of First-Hand Experience by visiting the places where Crazy Horse once walked.

Marshall, himself a Lakota, was raised on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota—the same place where Jimmy’s story begins. Marshall has published many fiction and non-fiction texts on Lakota history and culture, and cites the Lakota warrior Crazy Horse as his personal hero. In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse won Best Middle Grade Book in the American Indian Youth Literature Awards.

This guide uses the 2015 Kindle e-book edition of In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse.

Content Warning: The source text discusses colonialism, violence against Indigenous tribes, warfare, and violent death.

Plot Summary

The novel begins with 11-year-old Jimmy McClean having a tough time at school. Jimmy lives on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He is three-quarters Lakota but doesn’t look like the other Lakota children because he has blue eyes and light-colored hair and skin. His classmates, Corky Brin and Jesse Little Horse, bully Jimmy because of his appearance, saying that he doesn’t fit in as either white or Lakota.

One day Jimmy’s Lakota grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, comes to visit. Nyles takes Jimmy to his horse ranch, where the two of them bond over their shared love of nature. When Jimmy tells Nyles about his problems at school, Nyles offers to take Jimmy on a trip once the school year ends, where Nyles will teach Jimmy about the Lakota hero Crazy Horse, who shares many of the same physical traits as Jimmy.

Jimmy and Grandpa Nyles set out on their road trip across the Great Plains. Their first stop is Bear Butte, and Nyles explains that Crazy Horse was born in the area. Nyles tells a story about Crazy Horse, who used to be called Light Hair when he was a boy. In Nyles’s story, white soldiers—whom the Lakota call Long Knives—burn down an Indigenous village. Arriving late on the scene, Light Hair rescues a survivor named Yellow Woman and takes her to safety.

In Wyoming, Jimmy and Nyles see the wagon wheel tracks left behind by European settlers traveling the Oregon Trail in the 1800s. Nyles tells Jimmy about the conflicts between those settlers and the Indigenous tribes, and about how mistrust sometimes led to violence between the two groups. He tells Jimmy about how a misunderstanding involving a cow led to many deaths on both sides and, eventually, to the burning of Yellow Woman’s village. Nyles describes how Crazy Horse, upset by the bloodshed, had a prophetic dream in which a rider avoided death in battle, only to be pulled down by others who looked like him.

Jimmy and Grandpa Nyles next visit the site of the Battle of the Hundred in the Hands, where Crazy Horse faced great personal danger to lure many Long Knives into an ambush. Nyles describes the battle between the Indigenous people and the Long Knives, in which the Indigenous people were victorious. Nyles teaches Jimmy to have respect for everyone who fought in the battle, including the white soldiers. He tells Jimmy that Crazy Horse was a courageous warrior, but the most important thing was that he was humble and cared about helping the vulnerable members of his community.

In Montana, Jimmy and Nyles visit the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which took place in 1876. Nyles takes Jimmy through the events of the battle, which ended in the deaths of many US soldiers and a victory for the Indigenous people. Crazy Horse fought bravely in the battle, putting himself in danger to inspire the other warriors. The fact that he remained uninjured seemed to confirm his prophetic dream. Nyles teaches Jimmy that battles are tragic, no matter which side you are on. Jimmy promises not to forget what happened here. He and Nyles agree to return to the same place next year.

In Nebraska, the pair visit Fort Robinson, where Nyles tells Jimmy about Crazy Horse’s eventual surrender and death. Nyles tells Jimmy that Crazy Horse surrendered to the Long Knives to protect the helpless Lakota. His selfless act of giving himself up was the bravest thing he ever did. Afterwards, a misunderstanding led other Lakota working for the Long Knives to take Crazy Horse prisoner. When he fought back, he was killed. The role of the Lakota in Crazy Horse’s death mirrors his prophetic dream, in which a rider was pulled down by those who looked like him. Nyles and Jimmy feel an emotional attachment to Crazy Horse and mourn his death.

As the next school year begins, Corky and Jesse try to pick on Jimmy, but this time Jimmy isn’t afraid of them. With Crazy Horse as his role model, he shows courage and confidence against the bullies, calmly facing them until they back off. Secure in his own identity as a Lakota, Jimmy knows that he won’t let them bother him anymore.