My Indian Boyhood is a classic memoir of life, experience and education of a Lakota child in the late 1800s. Author's wish was to to educate the public about Lakota culture and to challenge government policies toward Native Americans by presenting his personal life story.

Luther Standing Bear was a Sicangu and Oglala Lakota chief notable in history as a Native American author, educator, philosopher, and actor of the twentieth century. Standing Bear fought to preserve Lakota heritage and sovereignty; he was at the forefront of a Progressive movement to change government policy toward Native Americans.