sue hillard

Red White or Blue is a thoroughly researched historical fiction novel set in 1875 and 1876. The adventure is narrated by two teens with culturally contrasting perspectives. First, Ohanzee, a sixteen-year-old son of a Lakota chief, witnesses an event which changes his life forever when he is forced to leave his tribe and learn the ways of the invading white man. Next, Sara, a fifteen-year-old daughter of an army major, learns she will accompany her parents west for an assignment at Fort Randall in Dakota Territory.

Months later, Ohanzee's and Sara's paths cross and they struggle to survive on the prairie. Through crisis, the teens are forced to face their different set of core values, different cultures, extreme perceptions of the Indian Wars and Manifest Destiny, faith, courting, death, and the meaning of life.

The story of Red White or Blue illuminates the human condition as Ohanzee attempts to regain the honor of his people and Sara struggles to survive and discover her individuality. Throughout the novel, the teens interact with famous historical legends, such as William Mayo, Calamity Jane, Grant Marsh, George Armstrong Custer, Bishop Martin Marty, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. The reader will be surprised with unexpected crisis along their journey which demands cross-cultural reconciliation, a sense of humor, determination and self-sacrifice.

Red White or Blue, raises questions of hidden prejudices within ourselves. If the novel is used in an educational setting, the Red White or Blue Student Workbook and the Red White or Blue Teacher's Guide create a comprehensive historical study of our nation's controversial period of 1875-1876.