Colin F. Taylor, Ph. D.

Hoka hey!

Scalps to Coups: The Impact of the Horse on Plains Indian Warfare

How the impact of the horse influenced the lifestyle of the Plains Indians, is well documented. Much less has been published on the change of intertribal warfare after the coming of the horse. Warfare was a decisive cultural element of the Plains peoples. The transition from a pedestrian to an equestrian society resulted in a dramatic turn of warfare tactics as well as in the ethos and status of the warrior.

During the “dog days”, women and children were seldom slain when enemy villages were attacked. In fact, they were coveted “spoils of war”. With the introduction of the horse, raiders were not adverse to killing women, being more interested in procuring the enemies’ horses. The role of women changed so drastically that they sometimes went on the warpath themselves and some even became leaders of war-parties. Furthermore, the significance of war trophies, which enhanced the rank of the warrior, changed markedly.

In this volume, Colin Taylor examines perhaps the most dramatic and thrilling chapter in the history of the equestrian culture on the Plains.

Beginning with the “dog days”, he concludes with the outlining of Indian warrior exploits in World War II.

Recently out of print. We are preparing a new edition. Please, place your pre-order for this volume.