The Song of the Indian Wars is part of Neihardt's Cycle of the West, a series of 5 epic poems relating the appropriation of the West in the 19th century from 1822 to 1890. The song of the Indian Wars deals with the last great fight for the bison pastures of the plains between the westering white men and the prairie tribes--the struggle for the right of way between the Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean. - Summary by Fritz and the preface