"[1] Anthropologist Omer Stewart described it as "one of the first and one of the most enduring ethnohistorical books written by an American Indian," frequently cited by scholars.

[2] Winnemucca wrote Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims while she was delivering lectures on the East Coast of the United States, advocating in the English language for the rights of the Northern Paiute people,[3] and she was assisted in the funding, editing, and publishing of the book by sisters Elizabeth Palmer Peabody and Mary Peabody Mann.

In the face of marginalization by the U.S. government, violence by white settlers, and stereotypes of "savagery" that many Anglo-Americans held against her people,[1] Winnemucca's intentions in writing Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims were candidly political.

[3] The purposes were to inform white audiences about the oppression of the Northern Paiutes, raise monetary support for her people,[4] and defuse ethnically divisive stereotypes.

[1] The book ends with a supplication to her readers to sign a petition to the U.S. Congress requesting for the return of a piece of land to the Paiutes,[3] uses strong pathos and detailed, emotionally-heavy imagery in describing the difficulties of reservation life,[1] and calls for white audience responsibility with quotes such as "Oh my dear good Christian people, how long are you going to stand by and see us suffer at your hands?".