Buffalo Calf Road Woman: The Story Of A Warrior Of The Little Bighorn

by Rosemary Agonito, Joseph Agonito

Winner of the Western Heritage Award for "Outstanding Western Novel" 2005
 
As the Cheyenne fought that June day in 1876, warrior Comes in Sight faced grave danger. His horse had been shot out from under him, and he was left stranded on the battlefield. Suddenly, a rider galloped through enemy fire, pulled Comes in Sight onto the back of her horse, and spirited him to safety. It was Buffalo Calf Road Woman—the warrior’s own sister.

While white men refer to this clash as the Battle of the Rosebud, the Cheyenne know it as the battle, “Where the Girl Saved Her Brother.” Days later, Buffalo Calf fought at the Battle of Little Bighorn—the only woman to do so. And now a controversy is brewing over her role in that battle: Did Buffalo Calf strike the fatal blow that killed Custer?

In this award-winning novel, authors Rosemary Agonito and Joseph Agonito depict the life and times of this brave young woman and the devastating effects of white man’s westward migration. Based on true events, this epic tale of love and war is an inspiring journey through one of history’s most moving sagas.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Native American, Womens, Fiction

254 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buffalo Calf Road Woman was a real Cheyenne, and this novel is based on what is known of Cheyenne life in the middle 19th century and stories that circulated about this woman. It is known that she was the only woman on the battle field the whites call Custer's Last Stand and she was at the battle that whites call the Battle of the Rosebud, but Cheyenne's call the Battle Where the Girl Saved Her Brother. It is an epic story of love and war and sadly captures the tragedy that was the American western expansion. It is well researched and well written and deservedly won Outstanding western novel of 2005. Yet another book that has been languishing on my shelves for a long time - not as long as the earlier Native American book recently reviewed, but still almost 10 years! Highly recommended for those who thirst for a real western story.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for many Book Club choice on Indigenous people. I don’t love the blend of fact and fiction. But the story is real and depressing. As our most things about colonialism

[Andrea Stoeckel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very sad book. Of course, I'm looking at it through a 21st century mind. Were we really that nasty to indigenous people? If so, it's no wonder they fought back! Buffalo Calf Road Woman was a real person. As a woman, brabe as she might have been, her role in the Northern Cheyanne took a back seat to the warrior braves. But she was remembered. She saved not only her brother but others throughout her short life. There are even sagas that it might have been her shot that killed Custer.

This is also the story of her liife with Black Coyote and their children. You eill get angry, be proud and be very sad when you read about how a fairly peaceful people were forced to fight for their very existance. Please remeber, this is fiction based as closely as possible to what history has left us. A pretty decent read

[Tomi Alger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buffalo Calf Road Woman is one of the girls in the book Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, though I do not remember if it is book one or book two. She is a Cheyenne woman who went into battle with the Cheyenne men. At the Battle of the Rosebud, she rescued her brother Comes in Sight. The next week, she also fought in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. She hit General Custer with her quirt. Some say that she knocked him off his horse, which made him vulnerable. This book does not say she knocked him off, however. This book shows the continued struggle between the Native peoples and the white American soldiers. A good read.

[Tina Moir · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very moving book based on the true story of a "Women Warrior"----a Cheyenne women who was the ONLY women to have fought at the Battle of Little Bighorn. It's an epic tale of love and war seen through the eyes of "Buffalo Calf". Found this book in a small book shop in Northern Montana and became mesmorized by tales of this women's life. Pretty amazing. It's a Dances with Wolves type of saga.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met the authors and was able to ask many questions and request more maps. They did have additional information. Another strong woman you never heard about becasue history books are written by white men.

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book. It not only tells of the heroic deeds and life of Buffalo Calf Road, but also the oppressions of the Cheyenne tribe. This book seems to have a lot of history about the Cheyenne tribe along with some fiction to make it interesting.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book! The story of Buffalo Calf Road Woman is well told and very enjoyable.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good. Tragic. Historical fiction with references to the real people and events cited in the back of the book.
Definitely worth reading.

[Troy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The one-phrase rundown: a true, and therefore predictably sad and poignant, story of a Cheyenne woman and her world.

I bought this for my soon-to-be girlfriend because I make a habit of giving interesting women books about other interesting women: mountain climbers, warriors, pilots, biologists and so on. Furthermore I was initially intrigued because I’d heard rumors, based on notions apparently put forth by some historians, that Calf could have struck the killing blow to Custer at the Little Bighorn (that could be considered kinda important). It’s well known that women warriors were not uncommon in various Nations, and Cheyenne oral history certainly seems to speak of Buffalo Calf Road as a courageous woman in battle.

Ultimately, though, this is not an academic investigation but historical fiction: it is the tale of Calf’s experiences during known events from 1864 (the Sand Creek massacre) to around 1880 (the establishment of the Northern Cheyenne reservation in Montana). Not being well-versed in these events, I can’t speculate as to how much or how little the authors embellished any given event or character. Obviously, no one can really know what anyone else was thinking in the 19th century. It does provide some historical context and references if one is inclined to find more information.

In the telling, it became repetitive because the reality was repetitive: attack by the US Cavalry, fight, retreat with survivors, hide, then get attacked again. Over and over. The story involved over 100 characters with various family and tribal relationships, which I found a little hard to keep track of after a while. But again that’s the reality of a relatively small, family-oriented society (hmm, I guess that says something about me).

Like Spielberg’s ‘Into the West’ TV series, Buffalo Calf Road was based on real events but doesn’t really provide new information: most of us are all too aware of the near-extermination of the various Nations of the Americas and the deprivations, brutalities and occasional nobility involved. It is a more personal, perhaps less dry, account occupying an interesting area of fiction between what we do know and what we never will.

[Peter Alcantara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a bit biased since my Aunt & Uncle wrote the book. It is a well researched epic that won outstanding western novel for the 2006 Western Heritage Awards. Previous winners include Larry McMurtry, James Michener, Barbara Kingsolver, John Wayne, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood.

This book shows the life and struggles of native americans of the late 1800's in a personal and real way as they clashed with soldiers during America's western expansion.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tragic, tragic read.