Recovering after a smallpox epidemic in 1837, the Hidatsa moved to the newly created Like-a-Fishhook Village in North Dakota in 1845.

[1] Her brother Wolf Chief, by contrast, had learned English, converted to Christianity, and added Henry as his first name.

Conversations with the former were the basis of his doctoral dissertation, Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden: Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians.

Wilson published the dissertation in the University of Minnesota's Studies in the Social Sciences academic journal in 1917.

Buffalo Bird Woman also discusses the Hidatsa's origin myths, history of her tribe, and cultural practices.

As he explains of his work in the foreword, "It is an Indian woman's interpretation of economics; the thoughts she gave to her fields; the philosophy of her labors.

[2]" Wilson also mentions that he hopes that his account will lead to better treatment for all Indians once readers understand the work that went into Buffalo Bird Woman's life.

Copies of Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden, complied in Wilson's original layout, are still available for purchase.

The most recent publication was released by the Minnesota Historical Society Press in 1987, and includes a contemporary introduction by anthropologist and ethnobotanist Jeffery R.

[5] Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden is also accessible for free on the University of Pennsylvania's Digital Library website.

[5] Tom Woods laments in Minnesota History that Hanson does not provide any contextual reference with regard to the Hidatsa's agricultural practices compared to other tribes.

Woods praises the Minnesota Historical Society Press for "rescuing this book from the dusty shelves of obscurity.