The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns (Plains Histories) [Hardcover]

Stew Magnuson (Author), Pekka Hamalainen (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0896726347 | ISBN-13: 978-0896726345 | Edition: First Edition

The long-intertwined communities of the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation and the bordering towns in Sheridan County, Nebraska, mark their histories in sensational incidents and quiet human connections, many recorded in detail here for the first time. After covering racial unrest in the remote northwest corner of his home state of Nebraska in 1999, journalist Stew Magnuson returned four years later to consider the larger questions of its peoples, their paths, and the forces that separate them. Examining Raymond Yellow Thunder’s death at the hands of four white men in 1972, Magnuson looks deep into the past that gave rise to the tragedy. Situating long-ranging repercussions within 130 years of context, he also recounts the largely forgotten struggles of American Indian Movement activist Bob Yellow Bird and tells the story of Whiteclay, Nebraska, the controversial border hamlet that continues to sell millions of cans of beer per year to the “dry” reservation. Within this microcosm of cultural conflict, Magnuson explores the odds against community's power to transcend misunderstanding, alcoholism, prejudice, and violence. “Like all good stories, The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder spins against the way it drives. Even as the people of Sheridan County despise, scorn, exploit, assault, and kill one another, their lives, like objects slipping out of control, become more and more inseparable. Indians and whites coexist and, against all odds, somehow get along, sharing space they really don’t want to share. This countercurrent is the source of the many unexpected stories Magnuson brings forth.” —Pekka Hämäläinen, from the foreword

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is a model of how local and regional history can and should be written."
--W. David Baird, Journal of American History

"In terms of artistry, [the book] is a grand sweep of history told in the best tradition of literary journalism. Border town inhabitants come to life and past and present merge seamlessly."
--Carol Berry, Indian Country Today

"Stew Magnuson expertly weaves together threads of sound historical research with social mythology and contemporary politics to produce an intriguing historical overview..." --Roger Davis, Nebraska History

"From readers looking for an informative read that flows like a well-written novel to researchers seeking information, this text is a valuable source."
--Jeanette Palmer, Studies in American Indian Literature

"Stew Magnuson provides a riveting and intricately textured retelling of a dreadful murder and its long history." --Daniel M. Cobb, The Western Historical Quarterly

About the Author

A native of Omaha and a graduate of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Stew Magnuson is a Washington, D.C.–based journalist and former foreign correspondent who has filed stories from Mali, Japan, Cambodia, Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Indonesia. He has traveled or lived in forty-five countries, including the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, where he served in the Peace Corps, and Peshawar, Pakistan, where he worked with Afghan refugees in the late 1980s. He lives in Arlington, Virginia. Pekka Hämäläinen is associate professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and specializes in borderlands and Native American history. He is the author of The Comanche Empire.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 378 pages
• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press; First Edition edition (August 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896726347
• ISBN-13: 978-0896726345
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Stew Magnuson is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and the author of The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder, an award-winning nonfiction book published by Texas Tech University Press.
The Nebraska Center of the Book named the work the 2009 Nebraska Book of the Year in the nonfiction category. Graphic artist Lindsay Starr was also honored for her work on the cover design.
In addition, the book won ForeWord magazine's bronze medal in the regional nonfiction category. The Center of Great Plains Studies also nominated the work as the 2008 Great Plains Distinguished Book of the Year. It was also nominated as the Writers' League of Texas nonfiction book of the year.
In 2006, Amazon.com Shorts posted an abridged excerpt of the book, "The Battle of Whiteclay," which was named by the editors as one of the top five nonfiction pieces published during the website's inaugural year.
Magnuson is a former foreign correspondent who has filed stories from Japan, Cambodia, Burma, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Mali and Indonesia. He has worked as a reporter for The Cambodia Daily, the Asahi Shimbun, Kyodo News Service, Space News, Education Daily, and is now managing editor of National Defense Magazine. He has contributed articles to the Christian Science Monitor, Reuters, Defense News, and numerous other publications.
He was part of the team that successfully published a daily newspaper during a coup d'etat in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in July 1997.
He was a resident of Tokyo on March 20, 1995 when the apocalyptic cult, Aum Shinrikyo, released nerve gas in the subway system. He has published one novel, The Song of Sarin, based on his experiences and research into the incident (Xlibris, 2003).
Magnuson has traveled to all 50 U.S. states and visited or lived in 47 countries, including the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, where he served in the Peace Corps, and Peshawar, Pakistan, where he worked with the Afghan resistance in the late 1980s. He has also attended games at 107 professional baseball parks.
Magnuson began work on The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder in 2003 after wrapping up a year of freelance writing in Southern California -- although his interest in the Nebraska-Pine Ridge border towns dated back to 1999 when he covered unrest in the town of Whiteclay for the Christian Science Monitor.
During the intervening years, he kept track of the ongoing problems in Whiteclay, a hamlet that sells million of cans of beer per year to residents of the reservation, where alcohol is banned. He always thought that there might be a larger story to investigate, but his career had taken him out of the area -- first to Washington, D.C, then to Los Angeles.
"Freelancing is not free," he explains. "I made a living in L.A., but I had little savings to show for it."
He found himself in Papillion, Nebraska, in 2003 between jobs and between coasts, as he looked for a permanent reporting job. To occupy his time, he attended hearings on Whiteclay at the Nebraska Unicameral, and demonstrations protesting the state's border-town law enforcement policies. An offer to cat-sit for friends in Lincoln was a turning point. While there, he followed up on a lead from a UNL law professor, who had offered him Nebraska State Patrol documents and video tapes of the 1999 Whiteclay troubles. At the same time, he spent his days researching the topic at the Nebraska State Historical Society.
It was while pouring over microfilm when he first heard about the controversial 1972 death of Raymond Yellow Thunder in Gordon, Nebraska. Believing that there was an important, untold story about the 130-year shared history of the white settlers of Sheridan County, Nebraska, and the Oglala Lakotas of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, he decided to end his job search and throw himself into the project.
"It was kind of a 'if not now, when?' situation," he says. "But I didn't have any money."
To raise funds for the research, he secured a job in a salmon-canning factory in Ketchikan, Alaska. At one point, he worked seven weeks without a day off -- often at 16-hour stretches. The experience earned him enough money to live for four months in Gordon, where he carried out the bulk of the research. Since then, he has returned to the area a half-dozen times. In total, he conducted more than 70 interviews for the project.
Magnuson graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1987 with a degree in English. He attended the university's School of Journalism and worked for several years at the student newspaper, The Daily Nebraskan.
In September 2007, Texas Tech University Press accepted The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder as part of its Plains Histories series, which is edited by UNL professor of history and journalism, John. R. Wunder.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two thumbs up from a former Gordonite, May 8, 2009

By 

J. BUSSINGER-STONE "Jamalee" (Spearfish, SD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns (Plains Histories) (Hardcover)

My family moved to Gordon in 1972 a week after Raymond Yellow Thunder's body was discovered in the Borman used car parking lot. My parents had been hired to manage the newly-built Gordon theatre. Those years promulgated unpleasant memories within me, yet I continued to live in Sheridan County for another thirty-one years.

Mr. Magnuson's account of the 130-year relationship between the Lakota and the Nebraska border towns was mesmerizing. A balanced account of the situation from both sides was presented; the accuracy of the information and detailed research was admirable.

The only minor flaw (omission) in the book that I noticed was the information concerning the "Billy Jack" movies of that time. The first Tom Laughlin/Delores Taylor movie, "The Born Losers" was released in 1969,"Billy Jack" was released in 1971,and the third movie of the series was "The Trial of Billy Jack," released in 1974. The way the information was presented was somewhat confusing; some people believe that "Billy Jack" was Laughlin's first "Billy Jack" movie

"The Trial of Billy Jack" played at the Gordon Theatre during February 1975. The Gordon theatre had several full-house nights; but one night the crowd began to chant "Yellow Thunder, Yellow Thunder" when the Blue Elk - Legion scene appeared. A gentleman came out to the theatre lobby, called my father a "white honky" and took a swing at him trying to incite a fight. After that night, my parents decided not to show the film anymore (which may have helped the Chadron Theatre mentioned on p. 221). Packed houses or not, the animosity in the air was not worth the box office revenue. I would have liked to have read this in the book.

"The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder" provides an accurate depiction of the "traditionalist" versus "progressive" power struggle on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation that continues today. The book also uncovers the existing ignorance that continues to exist in some Sheridan County residents.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read, fascinating slice of history I knew nothing about., September 15, 2008

By 

K. Brown (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns (Plains Histories) (Hardcover)

Reading this book I was completely sucked into a world that...A. I never knew existed, and B. If I knew about I probably would never have given a second thought.

Magnuson did an amazing job tying together the events of the 19th and 20th centuries...and a really great job keeping me from confusing the dozens and dozens of major players in the book.

He tells a series of hot-button stories in a way that manages to be fair to the facts, people and groups involved while at the same time keeping the reader's interest. More than a few times I kept reading just to see how one story would end up, or what would happen to one of the individuals involved.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Packed with powerful blends of history and cross-cultural conflict, November 8, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns (Plains Histories) (Hardcover)

THE DEATH OF RAYMOND YELLOW THUNDER AND OTHER TRUE STORIES FROM THE NEBRASKA-PINE RIDGE BORDER TOWNS is a top pick not just for Texas collections, but for any library strong in regional American history in general and border town politics and stories in particular. From the long history of racial unrest in these downs to community efforts to overcome internal violence and strife, THE DEATH OF RAYMOND YELLOW THUNDER is packed with powerful blends of history and cross-cultural conflict and interactions.