Dull Knife: Let Us Make A New Way

Benjamin Cooper is just a boy when his father decides to relocate them from St. Louis, Missouri, to the frontier town of Denver City, Colorado, during the booming gold rush of the mid-1800s.

While his father runs the local mercantile store in the heart of the city, Cooper is drawn to the life of the Cheyenne people, particularly through the unique friendship he shares with a young Cheyenne boy.

Eventually Cooper is admitted to West Point, and, upon graduating as an army officer, he finds himself stationed near the epicenter of the Cheyenne battles for their homeland.

As he learns more about the Native Americans he first connected to as a child, Cooper realizes he’s in conflict with the government he’s sworn to serve, questioning the commands of his superiors. Along with the venerated chief Dull Knife, he endeavors to forge a positive relationship between the great tribe and the US government.

But after every attempt he makes is thwarted by military aggression, Cooper leaves the army, disillusioned with the popular concept of Manifest Destiny and convinced the Cheyenne he had fought against died defending their right to live in the land given to them by their creator, Maheo.

Richard DeSirey has dedicated the past thirty years to working with the great-grandchildren of Cheyenne Chief Dull Knife, also known as Morning Star, assisting them in recording their family’s oral history.

As a teacher and counselor, DeSirey works with teens and young adults facing overwhelming obstacles. Dull Knife: Let Us Make a New Way is written for Morning Star’s descendants and for youth everywhere who fight their own battles on a daily basis.