Published by Avon Books in 1979, portions of the novel were plagiarized from works by Charles McNichols, Frank Waters, Benjamin Capps, Vardis Fisher, Frederick Manfred, among others.

[9]: 80 In 1981, novelist Benjamin Capps sued Anna Lee Waldo and Avon Books for copyright infringement and plagiarism of four of his novels: The Trail to Ogallala (1964), Sam Chance (1965), A Woman of the People (1966), and The White Man's Road (1969).

[2]: 240–242 When challenged by readers about alleged plagiarism, Waldo frequently explained her original "reference marks" were removed from the text prior to publication, or she was retelling Indian legend.

Mary Charlotte Simpson wrote in a 1986 graduate thesis, "Waldo defended the charges of having copied fiction by talking of documentation taken out, as if she were being questioned on historical sources.

Charles Adams of UNLV wrote in Western American Literature, "Waldo's copious appropriations of text and thought violate the ethics adhered to by all honest writers."