High Elk's Treasure, Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

Descendants of the Sioux who defeated General Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, thirteen-year-old Joe High Elk and his family live on a South Dakota reservation in the early 1970s. Their ancestor High Elk had bred fast, beautiful horses during the late 1800s, but by the 1930s that herd had diminished to only a few. Joe loves horses, and he shares his father's dream of rebuilding the herd. A series of exciting events leads Joe into a new understanding of the Lakota people, their character, and their rich cultural heritage.

Related Readings

from The War for the Black Hills—history by Dee Brown

from The Man Who Listens to Horses—informative nonfiction by Monty Roberts

The Legacy II—poem by Leroy V. Quintana

Lineage—poem by Margaret Walker

A Legend of Devil's Tower—folktale as told by Lame Deer

from Homesick: My Own Story—memoir by Jean Fritz

Study Guide (PDF)