|
Showing 1 - 3 of
3 matches in All Departments
Popular culture largely perceives the tragedy at Wounded Knee in
1890 as the end of Native American resistance in the West, and for
many years historians viewed this event as the end of Indian
history altogether. The Dawes Act of 1887 and the reservation
system dramatically changed daily life and political dynamics,
particularly for the Oglala Lakotas. As Akim D. Reinhardt
demonstrates in this volume, however, the twentieth century
continued to be politically dynamic. Even today, as life continues
for the Oglalas on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwestern South
Dakota, politics remain an integral component of the Lakota past
and future. Reinhardt charts the political history of the Oglala
Lakota people from the fifteenth century to the present with this
edited collection of primary documents, a historical narrative, and
a contemporary bibliographic essay. Throughout the twentieth
century, residents on Pine Ridge and other reservations confronted,
resisted, and adapted to the continuing effects of U.S.
colonialism. During the modern reservation era, reservation
councils, grassroots and national political movements, courtroom
victories and losses, and cultural battles have shaped indigenous
populations. Both a documentary reader and a Lakota history,
Welcome to the Oglala Nation is an indispensable volume on Lakota
politics.
Incorporating previously overlooked materials, including tribal
council records, oral histories, and reservation newspapers,
""Ruling Pine Ridge"" explores the political history of South
Dakotas Oglala Lakota reservation during the mid-twentieth century.
Akim D. Reinhardt examines the reservations transition from the
direct colonialism of the pre-1934 era to the indirect colonial
policies of the controversial Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) and
the advent of the tribal council governing system still in place
today on Pine Ridge and on many other reservations. Reinhardt
demonstrates how conflicting political values foregrounded by the
new governing format led to an aggravation of social divisions on
the reservation and eventually came to a head in 1973 with the
occupation and siege of Wounded Knee. The siege is best understood,
he claims, not as a political stunt of the American Indian Movement
(AIM) but as a spontaneous, grassroots protest at least forty years
in the making.
Reinhardt furnishes revealing portraits of Gerald One Feather, Dick
Wilson, Russell Means; he offers a telling indictment of Pine
Ridges economy. He is one of the few historians who understands the
distinction DArcy McNickle made decades ago between loss and
defeat. He and the late Vine Deloria, Jr. would have welcomed this
volume because of its thorough research and, above all, its
unflinching honesty. Writing in 1970 Deloria called for historians
to bring historical consciousness to the whole Indian story.
""Ruling Pine Ridge"" achieves that goal. It will be required
reading for all who care about not only the indigenous past but as
well its connection to the problems of the present and the
challenges of the 21st century. Peter Iverson, author of ""Din: A
History of the Navajos"". Incorporating previously overlooked
materials, including tribal council records, oral histories, and
reservation newspapers, ""Ruling Pine Ridge"" explores the
political history of South Dakotas Oglala Lakota reservation during
the mid-twentieth century. Akim D. Reinhardt examines the
reservations transition from the direct colonialism of the pre-1934
era to the indirect colonial policies of the controversial Indian
Reorganization Act (IRA). The new federal approach to Indian
politics was evident in the advent of the tribal council governing
system, which is still in place today on Pine Ridge and on many
other reservations. While the structure of the reservations
governing body changed dramatically to reflect mainstream American
cultural values, certain political equations on the reservation
changed very little. In particular, despite promises to the
contrary, the new reservation governments authority was still
severely constrained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In addition,
the new governing format led to an aggravation of social divisions
on the reservation. Reinhardt then examines the period of
1968-1973, showing that many of the political players on the
reservation had changed, and although the tribal council system was
well established by this point, deep dissatisfaction with the IRA
government persisted on Pine Ridge. This longstanding unhappiness
came to a head in 1973, with the occupation and siege of Wounded
Knee. Reinhardt demonstrates that the siege is best understood not
as a political stunt of the American Indian Movement (AIM), but as
a spontaneous, grassroots protest that was at least forty years in
the making.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|