Customer Reviews

The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History

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This is the first book I have read authored by Joseph M. Marshall, a Lakota Sioux. Based on this effort on Crazy Horse, I plan on reading others as well. Stereotypes are cast aside regarding the Lakota Sioux who were fighting an enemy that threatened their cultural way of life. It was the Fetterman Fight in December of 1866 in which Crazy Horse demonstrated his leadership by luring William Fetterman and his eighty men from Fort Phil Kearny into a trap that led to the demise of his entire group while young warriors, fighting impatience, waited until all of Fetterman's men were within the trap before attacking the soldiers. Much has been written about The Battle at the Little Bighorn in Montana in which Crazy Horse was instrumental in the defeat of General George Custer, but little is written about The Battle of the Rosebud near Buffalo, Wyoming, in which Crazy Horse and his men fought General George "Three Stars" Crook eight days prior to Little Bighorn. This battle is important because it eliminated Crook and his men from attacking the Indians at the Greasy Grass. Crazy Horse ultimately had to surrender at Fort Robinson in Nebraska because it meant the survival of his Lakota people. To continue fighting meant death to all against the superior numbers of the white invaders. I have read three other biographies on Crazy Horse, but this one by Joseph Marshall is the best of the bunch. Marshall puts himself in the position as an instructor of the Lakota way of life, and we, the reader, are his students. I found it to be a very informative book.

Of all of the great Native American leaders of the Old West, none is more elusive than Tasunke Witko, Crazy Horse. While we have photographs of Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, Gall, Rain in the Face, Chief Joseph and Geronimo, no image of Crazy Horse, the legendary field general of the Lakota, exists or has survived.

Past efforts at providing a credible literary portrayal of the man have reeked of the mythology that pervaded Western History. All through those accounts the stereotype of supposed ruthless savagery lingered in the background, like a vile stench. Even those authors who tried to be fair couldn't, somehow, rise above the temptation to sensationalize Crazy Horse.

Why is it that we tolerate such fiction? Why is it that we succumb to the temptation to paint all of our enemies, past and present, as demons and devils without honestly trying to understand where they were coming from? Sadly, this continues to be the major problem when whites (of whom I am one) contemplate the bloody history of conflicts between their ancestors and Native Americans. We just can't seem to let go of the prospect that we were the ones that were wrong!

Now Lakota author, Joseph Marshall III, provides a sensitive account of the life of Crazy Horse drawn from the rich Native American oral tradition that still exists for all who are open-minded enough to hear it. What better way and who better to tell the story of a hero? THE JOURNEY OF CRAZY HORSE: A LAKOTA HISTORY relates the life of Crazy Horse, as Mr. Marshall promises in his foreword, as a Native American storyteller might.

What emerges is the story of a good man, a man who, for his part, fought for what he believed was right. From his beginnings to his rise as a gifted warrior and leader to his triumph at The Greasy Grass Fight (The Battle of the Little Bighorn) to his death in 1877, Crazy Horse lives for the very first time with an accuracy and tenderness that seem most fitting.

Marshall also relates the traditional accounts of the man off the battle field. We discover a caring father, brother, husband and friend. THE JOURNEY OF CRAZY HORSE: A LAKOTA HISTORY provides, at last, an accurate portrait of one of America's greatest leaders. Hopefully readers will see this, looking past the stereotypes and prejudices of the past that seem all too alive and well today.

THE HORSEMAN

This is my third Joseph Marshall book (after "Soldiers Falling into Camp" and "The Lakota Way"). Reading Joe Marshall is like having a "story teller" right in front of you, talking, teaching, engaging, looking you in the eye and speaking to you. Mr. Marshall cares about what he writes about, and cares that his readers take something with them. This clearly comes through in his writing. In this book he speaks of the "conflict" between the oral and written traditions -- I think Mr. Marshall is a master at synthesizing the two.

The Lakota history and experience he imparts are as genuine as it gets - and a treasure he has given us non-Lakota people a chance to see. The book describes, through synthesis of oral history and the experiences/culture of the Lakota people, the man of Tashunka Witko (His Crazy Horse). Marshall shows how the life of a very heroic yet very human man transcends linear time and remains part of living culture through faithful oral tradition and living into that tradition - something very different than what we're used to. Direct sources with the people who lived and continue the live in the influence and experience of a leader of the Lakota people.

ADDENDUM 2007
I am respectfully submitting this addendum in response to a broader re-assessment. I agree with the review from Belgium about Mr. Marshall's overbroad & negative characterization in applying "Euro-American" as a pejorative. In Mr. Marshall's newest publication "Little Bighorn," this overarching negativity towards on Euro-American culture, which he continuously contrasts to his own (which is always without any faults), is even more evident. I regret that I hadn't seen this in my initial reading of the Crazy Horse book (Marshall's feelings were not as strongly presented in this volume). History can never be free of perspective, passion and prejudices - esp. when its sharp and painful. I'm sorry that Mr. Marshall seems to have become more embittered over time, as his work to share his culture is very important.

Joseph Marshall's elegant and powerful book, "The Journey of Crazy Horse," is the gold standard by which all other biographies of Crazy Horse will heretofore be measured. Rather than aggrandizing the legend, Marshall explores the inner workings and revealing actions of a seemingly contrary man, who, born in any other time, might have been lost to history as an eccentric mystic. "The Journey of Crazy Horse" deftly explains the times in which he lived and the politics of Whites and Indians alike that forced this reluctant icon to action. Marshall details a man bereft of worldly ambition, driven by circumstance and sustained by an indomitable inner spirit. The author never succumbs to the lure of stridency, never attempts to sway emotion to Crazy Horse and his cause, though had he done so, it would have been forgivable, for at it's core, this is a story of genocide and of the heroism and dignity that defied it. The truth is, Crazy Horse never needed puffery or pedestals. By resisting the temptation of such accouterments, Joseph Marshall's Crazy Horse emerges in flesh and blood, flawed and tormented. Crazy Horse, by rising above those things, is revealed as man greater than the myth. This is a graceful book that moves without manipulation and will resonate in your thoughts long after the final page has been turned. One gets a sense that somewhere, somehow, Crazy Horse approves-not because of any undue glorification of his heroics, but rather that after all this time, he is understood.

If you are old enough to remember childhood games built on the budding imagination of youngsters rather than lines of computer programming, then you will recall such things as "Cops and Robbers" and "Cowboys and Indians." Who among us over the age of thirty-five can forget Saturday movie matinees where cheers erupted when a bugle heralded the arrival of soldiers coming to save besieged settlers from attacking `savages' We were learning and playing out our burgeoning perceptions of good and evil. Cops and cowboys were good; robbers and Indians were bad.

This book reminds us that there is another side. Or maybe that much of the American experience is subjective. As the saying goes, "History is rewritten by the victors."

It is one of the reasons Lakota educator-historian Joseph M. Marshall has undertaken this biography of his childhood hero, Crazy Horse. In describing this revered warrior's life, we are told (or reminded) of the dishonesties perpetrated by white culture on indigenous people in the name of "Manifest Destiny."

We tend to hold suspect anything without a lengthy written chronicle to back it up. In an age when computerization allows instantaneous deletion or alteration of a word, this is an ironic attitude. Thus, we like to ignore the ancient oral traditions of all tribes. Marshall gently takes us to task for this, by suggesting that the lopsided history we carry in our printed texts is inaccurate because we have chosen to exclude those who carry the other half of the story.

Marshall gives us the native peoples' view of several major Indian treaties of the mid-nineteenth century. We ought to feel shame in the face of our forbearers' manipulation of a group whose culture simply did not include most of the odd concepts that shaped these pacts. "The whites seemed to want to say where the land ended and where it began by drawing a picture on a parched hide. . . but who could find that line on the earth?"

Most regrettable is the fact that of the 371 treaties made with various indigenous people, it is we, the writers and inciters of those treaties, who have broken all 371. So much for national honor.

Of course in the nineteenth century the American Indian was regarded as being in almost the same class as black people imported to slavery. Labeling another society `savage' or `animal-like' provides a convenient pretext for asserting our alleged superiority while promoting whatever the current agenda is.

By sketching a picture derived from Lakota oral tradition of Crazy Horse's childhood and growth into a warrior, the author shows us something of the vanished Plains Indian way of life. Their child-rearing approach was far from `savage.' All women were considered mothers, aunts, or grandmothers to a child whether or not there was a direct familial connection. Men were teachers, particularly when male children began to show curiosity about the knowledge they would need to function as adults. There were definite positive attributes that were to be cultivated if one was to stand proud before his own people. These included "generosity, courage, fortitude, and wisdom." Among Jews, a man is expected to be a mensch, a charitable, ethical, fulfilled person. The Lakota male had a similar goal to become wica, or complete. Bravery in battle was not always defined by killing as it was to the white. It was considered a greater show of courage to ride up and touch one's enemy leaving him to fight again.

Most military minds now accept that the Plains Indians were, in most cases, superior fighters, horsemen and tacticians. Their ability to live off the land allowed them to move swiftly using the element of surprise. (It is impossible to hide the cloud of dust generated by a hundred men dragging with them a herd of extra horses, supply wagons, and artillery.) These first people were defeated not by lack of civilized attitude, or absent valor, but by sheer force of numbers. Ultimately, what Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and other leaders had to face was that they simply could not hold back the inundation of white settlers bent on taking "free" land.

Joseph Marshall brings alive a segment of time and a slice of the population that we descendants of the first Europeans conveniently ignore. This book is a valuable addition to any public or personal library. We cannot undo the creation of a reservation system that evolved into an economic ghetto, home to people who wished only to live close to the land without destroying it. But we should back positive legislation that could return to them confiscated territory or other suitable (by their standards, not ours) recompense for what they have lost.

Book Review
by Lydia Whirlwind Soldier

The Journey of Crazy Horse
by Joseph M. Marshall III
Published by the Penguin Group 2004

The Journey of Crazy Horse is written by Joseph Marshall III, a Sicangu Lakota. Joseph Marshall has been praised as an
historian, educator and story teller. He grew up on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota with his extended family and his
first language is Lakota. He has written six books, all of which I would recommend

In the 127 years since the murder of Crazy Horse many stories and books have been written about him by Euro-Americans. It is
important to recognize that the stories written about Crazy Horse by non-Indians have only touched the surface of the true life of
this great Lakota leader.

While the story told by Marshall has been passed down from one Lakota generation to the next, it has not been shared in detail to
the out-side world. This story confirms in many ways the fact that Crazy Horse struggled valiantly against injustice and
persistent forces that fragmented the Lakota Nation. Joseph Marshall's portrayal of Crazy Horse's life unfolds the tragic
circumstances in which peace with the Lakota Nation was dictated rather than negotiated. Under enormous odds the Lakota
under the leadership of Crazy Horse and other great Lakota leaders were able to withstand the onslaught of the United States for
many decades.

In the end, under the guise of treaties making, the powers that be shamelessly used divide and conquer tactics to establish
apartheid types of control. They essentially used these controls to create a reservation system very much like a concentration
camp to isolated, control and steal the territory belonging to the Lakota people.

There are several ways to look at the injustice and understand the immorality of the war waged against the Lakota. Marshall
describes and traces the tactics of deviation, trickery and atrocities used against the Lakota to help the reader understand and
acknowledge the right of the Lakota to defend their homes, families and property.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of this book. This may be the first time that oral tradition has been accepted by
publishers as authoritative and worthy of being believed. Up to this time, oral tradition was sometimes described as legend or
myth and not given the credibility that these stories deserve. While, in turn most of us who heard the stories of our history from
our relatives read the historical accounts written by non-Indians with doubt and sometimes even disbelief and were skeptical
of their interpretation.

Marshall, growing up as a Lakota is able to capture the nuances of the Lakota lifestyle, philosophy and culture that only those
living this lifestyle will understand and could articulate to the public so thoroughly. There is no question that Joseph Marshall
captures the essence of this great Lakota leader, Crazy Horse. It is a story of a loving son, a family man, and brilliant and daring
warrior and tactician, a man that we could easily and closely identify with as a tribal member. In any event, this tragic, yet amazing
story about Crazy Horse and the Lakota Nation is described eloquently by Marshall.

This is a story I would recommend to all. This story is about a true and great Lakota hero, Crazy Horse who represents the pride
and honor of the Lakota people. It is a story about a man who bravely protected his people, gave his life and who has become an inspiration in the eyes of people throughout the world.

Joseph Marshall III has obviously been very careful in recounting the history of Crazy Horse in this book because there are many members of Crazy Horse's family and also western scholars still around who can discount the narrative as false or as romanticism. The story is one from the Lakota point of view passed down and learned through generations of Crazy Horse's tiospaye (family), of which Marshall is a member. It is not only expected, but imperative, that Marshall get the story right--it is a story he passes down to his own children, grandchildren, extended family members and thousands of Lakota people who continue to struggle to maintain cultural ties and history for their own identities and for future generations. That being said: this book is incredible.

Marshall writes very descriptively about a time that is slowly being forgotten. The story unfolds as if one is sitting with an elder, looking at old photos and listening to the memories of someone who was there. Marshall heard this story second and third-hand as a young boy from elders who raised him, so it is very much like visiting a grandfather to hear about the old days. Although that might bring up questions of historical accuracy, you would have to know the Lakota very well to understand that the fine points of any story are memorized, argued, and finally recounted on the consensus of a group of elders telling a story. Not only does Marshall capture that spirit of elders telling stories, he tries very hard to see deep into the heart of Crazy Horse, something he has been able to accomplish because he grew up speaking Lakota, raised by people living during that time in history, and is knowledgeable about what a responsibly-raised Lakota man would think, how he would act, and what he might foresee in the face of the total demolition of his way of life.

The best thing about this book is the narrative style. Marshall does not assume anything about his readers' intelligence, which is refreshing after trying to slog through Sandoz' "Me heap big chief" style of writing. Anyone from 12 to 100 could read this book and become engaged in the story, learning Lakota history, culture, and some language along the way from someone who is an expert. I would recommend this and all of Marshall's books in any classroom where Lakota children are taught.

Joseph Marshall has done the greatest possible tribute to the legendary Crazy Horse by portraying him as he undoubtedly was--human, troubled, self doubting, and yet a magnetic and inspired leader of men. Marshall's prose is deeply moving, drawing the reader into life as it was then, letting us see the fear of impending disaster from the eyes of the Lakota as their hunting grounds disappeared and they were, bit by bit, stripped of their pride not by military force, but out of compassion for the weak and vulnerable among them.

Marshall demonstrates tremendous insight into the Lakota of the 19th century--he learned well. He described Crazy Horse brilliantly, thus: "He rose to leadership because he actually led. He didn't point to where others should go while he waited. He led." His last moments were a tragedy that should never be forgotten.

There is much more to this book than Crazy Horse. Marshall exhibits what appears to be a Lakota wisdom so needed today. "The fact that we can perform a task more quickly because we've improved on a tool proves that we...have become more efficient, but it doesn't necessarily mean that we've grown wiser."

Amen. One of the finest books I've read.

I don't listen to books on CDs preferring to read the book; but in this case my local library had only the CDs. Not only am I enjoying this book via CDs but I've ordered the hardcover copy for my home library.

To listen to this author read his own work is almost a magnetic experience: one is just drawn to what he has to say and the manner with which he says it.

I've read on the 'west' for years and have always wanted to hear the Indian viewpoint of many matters and can now do that. My major in college was anthropology and I have always felt the oral traditions from the plain's people offer a much closer truth than many of our own historians have either sought or achieved.

This is an excellant example of not only the truth of Crazy Horse but a collective insight into the Lakota people themselves. Just an excellent work deserving of all awards it may garner.

Semper Fi.

Joseph Marshall's insight and narration (CD Version) into Crazy Horse the man, son, father, husband and lastly the warrior leader is delightful. Looking back from his perspective gives the listener a true sense of what it must have been like to observe firsthand the Indian lands and cultures being invaded by an unremitting river of white people.

Marshall gives us a unique sense of how the Lakota and other bands of plains Indians struggle to simply survive and now face this growing force of people who have no respect for the existing social or family structures or the ownership of lands. He tells the listener of how the effects of treaty violations and agency living really affected the tribal structure and the individual families. His perspective on the battles many western writers have called massacres are related to us from the Lakota point of view. He dispelled many of the myths and legends of Crazy Horse and other tribal leaders of the time.

What I enjoyed most was that Marshall told us these stories orally, in the CD version, just as his ancestors must have for generations. This is a book that should be listened to and passed down to our children.