Re-read 18 years later I met, Mary Crow Dog, in 1994, at her bo

Re-read 18 years later

I met, Mary Crow Dog, in 1994, at her book signing, in Phoenix, Arizona. I was impressed that Mary took the time to not only sign my book, but she wrote a note and drew a picture. Richard Erdoes accompanied Mary, and he also signed his name under Mary’s.

When I read Lakota Woman in 1994, I enjoyed what I learned about the Lakota Sioux Nation’s people, customs, and history. Re-reading the book in 2012, I read for a different purpose. I’m writing a historical novel, and need to validate any facts I might include in my book.

Lakota Woman is just as fascinating a read in 1994 as it was today. Mary grew up as a Lakota Sioux on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Much like today, Pine Ridge was poverty stricken. Mary described her life, but she included other American Indians in her book.

She was raised in a one room shack, filled with many family members, with no amenities, much like camping. She described the daily life of Sioux women, and Sioux men, differentiating their roles. Ignorance was bliss for Mary, as she thought this was how everyone lived. She viewed her childhood as happy because she basically had love in her family. Domestic abuse was rampant in reservations, and there were dysfunctional families, as we call them today.

Indian children were sent to boarding school to ‘become white’, to shed their Indian ways and customs. The students were beaten and punished if they didn’t succeed in the daily attempts to change their traditional values. Mary left and became a street smart Sioux, she drank and shoplifted to survive.

As every teenager looked for something to be a part of, Mary joined the AIM (American Indian Movement). She was empathetic to her people and other Indian’s struggles and was hungry for knowledge. Mary shared the AIM events with her readers. Not all of it is pretty, by any means, but that is what is so fascinating. It’s a first-hand account of what American Indians suffered in the 1970’s.

Mary had a baby during the siege at Wounded Knee. Here she met her husband, Leonard Crow Dog; he was a medicine man and a leader, and also had children of his own. She was a naïve wife and mother, but she learned how to do both well and stood by her husband during his imprisonment and adversities during these tumultuous times.

The book includes sixteen photos that illustrate traditional customs, and put faces to names and places. Whether you read Lakota Woman to learn about the Lakota Sioux in general, or to obtain precise facts for your own research, it is the perfect book.

It is written on a young adult level, so it’s an easy read that any age would enjoy. It’s always fun to learn history through reading a story such as Lakota Woman vs. a textbook.

Excellent First Hand View of American Indians

Mary Crow Dog tells her story of a life enmeshed with the problems that American Indians have faced for years: poverty, alcoholism, mistreatment by the U. S. government. She was there at the siege of Wounded Knee in the 1970a and fought and struggled to help her people. Highly recommended.

The sad truth

The Lakota Woman offers a historically accurate account of the American Indian Movement during the late 1900s and the culture and oppression faced by Native Americans, specifically the Sioux tribe of the Dakotas. Although bias, it offers a different and important perspective on the long history of Native American and White conflict. It allows the reader to see things through the eyes of the victim, and illuminates a just reason for the writer¿s bias. My textbook The American Pageant did not delve deeply into the affect of Whites on Native American life and culture. Although there were a few things that the book talked about that were present in my textbook, such as the massacre at Wounded Knee and the affect on Indians during Andrew Jackson¿s presidency. My book also talked about the Trail of Tears and how during the Red movement the AIM Indians retraced the trail during their march to DC called the Trail of Broken Treatises. Lakota Woman offered me an entirely new understanding of the hardships faced by the Indians of the past and even the modern Indians. This book taught me of the Whites continued mission to ¿Whitemanize¿ the Indians and how racism was still strongly present among both Whites and Indians and often left to violent conflicts between the two. I learned a lot more about the obstacles which face modern Indians on their impoverished reservations, how alcoholism is a huge problem and often leads to death and domestic violence. I learned of the cruel punishments in White boarding schools and the sexual harassment aimed at young Indian girls. But the thing that shocked me most was that the Whites were the biggest contributors to the Indians problems and how there was violent racism in my own state. The book is told through the eyes of an iyeska or half breed, she talks about her struggle to become more Indians and how she hates the white in her and what it did to her people. She may seem bias in her accounts, but the book makes it understandable that the crimes committed against her and her people would create such perspectives. Richard Erdoes does an amazing job of telling Mary Crow Dog¿s story and maintaining her voice throughout the book. I can feel the pain in her voice when she tells of the wrongs committed against her and her people. How she is frequently harassed by white males and her people¿s men often get drunk and die in car crashes. I can see her hurt when she talks about the forced sterilization of her people¿s woman and the abuse faced in the boarding schools. This book is sure to leave people with a higher understanding of the plight of Native Americans and an admiration for their resilience and unity. I would definitely recommend this book to one of my friends, we barely learn anything about how the Native American¿s felt about the invasion of their homeland and this book gives a passionate account of the problems the modern Indians face today. It is important for American¿s to understand everything about our nations past, even the bad things, so that we can work towards a more tolerant future. I¿d have to rate this book a 4! Out of 5, even without a formal education Mary Crow Dog is able to offer a clear and understandable account of her life and her people¿s history. Even though it¿s non-fiction it is extremely interesting and don¿t be surprised if you find yourself staying up late at night to read another chapter and find out more about our countries Native people.

Enlightening

I thought I knew about Peltier, but I'd only heard the white media account of why he had been locked up. Lakota Woman tells the other side of the story. The book is compelling and disarmingly introspective. Mary Crow dog not only tells the story of Wounded Knee; she also examines her own behavior, belief system, cultural identity, and the consequences of her actions.

Standing up for Native American past

The true story is a personal account of young native Indian girl, Mary, growing up in the 1960¿s and 1970¿s struggling to find her identity and the identity of her people. Rape, murder, and oppression were weaved in with her young life. It seemed to feed the bitterness of white people as a whole. Mary seemed so matter of fact about the deaths like it was tying a shoe, but then who cared. After time she gained pride through her participation in AIM, the 71 day seige at '1973 Wounded Knee', and regaining some of her own spirit. Written as a novice writer but it's Mary Crow Dog's memories. I liked it and feel people need to open there eyes.

Don't bother

This was the absolute worst book I've read in a long time. I couldn't even finish it. All she does is whine and feel sorry for herself throughout the whole story. Poor, poor pitiful me tone that drove me nuts.

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Must read book !

Mary Crow Dog show the readers all the things that were going on through out her life. This is a book that every one needs to read.

I loved it!

I loved that book! It talked about what the A.I.M. did to represent the people. Mary Crow Dog is the best and I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to know what went down in South Dakota.

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