Customer Reviews

The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge: A Lakota Odyssey

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book had me glued to it's pages .I was raised by a Lakota and this book reflects on the state of native americans in this country today and backs it up with the history to explain why.A must read if you want to "get inside" what has REALLY happened in this country to a race of people who almost were completely exterminated because of their advanced social ideals colliding with the morally bankrupt european "civilization" which at the time was barely out of the dark ages so much so in fact that when the colonists revolted they spouted Iroquois political ideals which were and still are more advanced than any idea the european mind has ever had .

I would never have read this book had I not been assigned a project dealing with Chief Dull Knife's death march from Indian Territory. I picked it up and got plenty of information about that historical event. Reading on, I discovered a great deal more.
In addition to tracing four generations of Dull Knifes, this book is one of the most comprehensive and attractive histories of the Lakota people ever. It covers almost everything -from the battle of the Little Big Horn to the upsurge of Indian pride following the siege of Wounded Knee. Though I had read bits and pieces about them before, I was able to form a more integrated picture of the Sioux after reading this book. Often suppressed and today among the poorest groups in America, the Lakotas have held onto and passed down the beauty and resilience of their culture- like the Dull Knife who wore a medicine bundle into Vietnam and Sioux women favoring herbs and blossoms over shampoo. This spirit even shows in the narrative's fresh, confident feel.
The book also offers a glimpse at the personality of Dewey Beard, the last survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, who died in 1959 and was a friend of the Dull Knife family.

From the perspective of two generations of Dull Knifes (Guy Sr. and Jr.) the reader is given a 5-generation perspective on just about every important challenge faced by the Lakota/Oglala Sioux and Northern Cheyenne. There is more impact in reading this story than from reading a history book because these are real people telling their real stories which keeps within the Indian tradition of oral history. Most important, is the theme of resistance/persistence which runs throughout this history into the present day, emphasized by the obvious - 5 generations of Dull Knifes and still going. Highly recommended.

I read this book right after it was published. The patriarch in the nursing home, diligently preparing for his family's visit was neither overly sentimental nor written with the sort of political correctness one finds so often in this type of story. I found the story of this family to be absorbing. These people are tough as rocks, wonderfully artistic, incredibly brave, and amazingly realistic about their lives. This history struck me as very honest and sincere.

I had just come back from the Veterans Powwow at the Pine Ridge Reservation and because of the fantastic treatment I received there decided to read up on the Oglala Lakota Sioux, after all the amount I knew about the Oglala could be fit in a thimble. From the minute I picked up the Dull Knifes book I was hooked. The book flows as will the tears. You will find out about the Wounded Knee Massacre and the way the Oglala were treated by the whites and the government.And this all done with dignity, no crying or griping done. You will see how this fine AMERICAN family perservered. You will find out about the Northern Cheyenne as well as the Oglala. I can only say, if you can read and have a heart this book will touch it. And thats from a mixed blood Mi'kmaq.

An engaging story of one family of the Lakota (Sioux) from the time the treaty was signed creating Indian reservations to the present. In each generation one or more of the family members are presented in reasonable detail. See the hopes, challenges, and triumphs of each generation and get to know and love them as they attempt to hold onto important aspects of their native culture while they step into modern life with mixed successes. You'll gain an appreciation of the dedicated military service many Indians have given the U.S., and perhaps you'll twitch uncomfortably or maybe grin at the soldier who collected ears from his battlefield conquests. In total I gained a new respect of the Lakota.

I found this book among a box of old books that were left behind in a basement. Because of my Cherokee heritage, I was compelled to read The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge. And now, I'm glad I did. It is heartbreaking to read how the white man treated the Indian and everything that was done to them. This book tells of events that took place and aren't at all very pretty, especially in the Viet Nam era. If The Trail of Tears was found to be an enjoyable read, then you must read this story about the Lakota Indians. I enjoyed every page.

Quite a story, deserving a better writer. The second half of the book is about a man drafted into the Vietnam war. Be advised.

Perhaps, one of the more intriguing ways to view history is through the sequential generations of family. With this device, history becomes personal, it has essence, it is more than places, dates, and outcomes. Joe Starita accomplishes exactly this with The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge. One can't help but be pulled into the story through the disarming capacity of empathy.

Though tragic, it is also a story of perseverance and the unconditional commitment to freedom. It is the absolute refusal to lie down. The Lakota, like all Native Americans, were caught in the buzz saw of Manifest Destiny. A new nation, built on the concept of freedom, explicitly and categorically denied it to the people it found.

Starita has chosen an exemplary family to share this history. They lived it and live it still. I don't agree with every author assumption and spotted a faulty premise or two, but this in no way changes the fact that The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge is required reading for anyone with an interest in the Native American story. It is a 5 star reading experience.

This is a great book! It's well written and very, very readable. It is, of course, an Indian perspective but written by a white man. But I believe he does justice to the Lakota and successfully shows what it feels like to be Lakota both past and present. The stories of Guy Dull Knife really show how unprepared and clueless whites were when it came to modernizing the Indian. Looking at the events of the last 100 years through clan Dull Knife eyes, it's so confusing trying to figure out the world of the white man. But the book is not a parade of unhappy experiences. The Dull Knife family has been involved in some truly fascinating chunks of history. For me I found the trek from Oklahoma back to South Dakota to be epic, Dull Knife and Little Wolf were true heroes. Also the personal stories of George Dull Knife working in Bill Cody's Wild West Shows told me things I'd never heard, including a dark side to these shows. You have to read about Lone Bull 'working' for a competing company. Lakota soldiers in the Army are in all our wars...just as tough now as they were against Custer. It's a very balanced book, it shows the good and the bad on both sides of Native American history. I think you'll see Indians in a different light after reading the book.