The Red Record of the Sioux: Life of Sitting Bull and History of the Indian War of 1890-91 : a Graphic Account of the Life of the Gresat Medicine Man and Chief Sitting Bull : His Tragic Death : Story of the Sioux Nation : Their Manners and Customs, Ghost Dances and Messiah Craze : Also, a Very Complete History of the Sanguinary Indian War of 1890-'91

Published in 1891, shortly after the Wounded Knee Massacre, this volume by Willis Fletcher Johnson emerged during a period of intense public fascination and alarm regarding the Ghost Dance movement and the end of the Indian Wars. The book was produced as a rapid response to the death of Sitting Bull, aiming to capitalize on the public's desire for context regarding the conflict between the U.S. government and the Lakota Sioux. It serves as a representative example of late 19th-century frontier literature, blending historical narrative with the prevailing, often biased, journalistic sensibilities of the era.

The volume was designed with a sensationalist aesthetic typical of Victorian-era subscription books, featuring dramatic illustrations and typography meant to convey the gravity of the 'Indian Wars.' Johnson, a writer and journalist, framed the text as a comprehensive, authoritative account of Sitting Bull’s life and the cultural phenomenon of the Ghost Dance. While it provided contemporary readers with a detailed perspective on these events, historians today view the text as a primary source that reflects the colonial attitudes and geopolitical tensions inherent in the American expansionist policies of the 1890s.