Told through the life stories of nine Indian chiefs, this narrative depicts the American Indian effort to preserve a heritage and resist the changes brought by the white man. Hiawatha, King Philip, Popé, Pontiac, Tecumseh, Osceola, Black Hawk, Crazy Horse, and Chief Joseph each represent different tribal backgrounds, different times and places, and different aspects of Indian leadership. Soldiers, philosophers, orators, and statesmen, these leaders were the patriots of their people. Their heroic and tragic stories comprise an integral part of American history.

"Josephy tells his nine lives with . . . a cold-blooded historian's perspective, sorrowing for both white man and red."--Time

"More than a series of biographical sketches . . . Josephy places his Indian heroes in a broad historical setting and pictures them as fighters for freedom in the American tradition."--The New York Times Book Review