Modoc Sundance

Modoc Sundance is set against the backdrop of the Modoc War that took place in Northern California’s Lava Beds country in 1873. As a work of historical fiction, author Sean Belanger has created a captivating story and centered it on a seminal event in Western history, one of those rare moments that divide time into before and after. According to Belanger, two conflicting sets of Indian policies dominated the nineteenth century. The first, which was influenced by the ideals of William Penn, sought the evangelization of Natives and their integration into an agrarian ideal. The second sought the outright elimination of any people who resisted Manifest Destiny. In the course of the Modoc conflict, Penn’s ideals lost favor, and events occurred that set the stage for Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee. Although Belanger’s epic narrative focuses on the fictionalized Jim Wallace, Modoc Sundance includes portraits of many real-life participants, including President Ulysses S. Grant, Chief of Staff William Tecumseh Sherman and General Jefferson C. Davis. Also drawn from history is Captain Jack whom Wallace pursues in order to rescue a strong-willed woman rancher abducted by the Modoc chief. Dodging two parallel conspiracies and numerous battles in order to capture Captain Jack, Jim must face the inevitable truth that his victory will lead to the execution of the rebel chief and the loss of a most precious and beautiful culture. Modoc Sundance is an action-packed and comprehensive historical novel that vividly portrays the collision of two one reaching for its manifest destiny, the other struggling to survive. Belanger draws heavily on firsthand accounts soldiers’ letters, Army Museum records and even President Grant’s Memoirs. His book is full of the stark grandeur, violence and vitality of California’s Siskiyou County.