Loud Hawk: The United States Versus the American Indian Movement [Paperback]

Kenneth S. Stern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2002

Loud Hawk: The United States versus the American Indian Movement is the story of a criminal case that began with the arrest of six members of the American Indian Movement in Portland, Oregon, in 1975. The case did not end until 1988, after thirteen years of pretrial litigaion. It stands as the longest pretrial case in U.S. history.

This is a dramatic story of people and of government abuse of the legal system, of judicial courage and bone-chilling bigotry. It is an insider’s view of the legal process and of the conditions in Indian country that led up to and followed Wounded Knee.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This is the shocking story of a criminal case that began in Portland, Ore., in 1975 and ended in 1988 after 13 years of pre-trial litigation. Six members of the American Indian Movement--Dennis Banks, his wife KaMook, Kenny Loud Hawk, Russell Redner, Anna Mae Aquash and Leonard Peltier--were charged with possessing dangerous weapons with intent to use them. Stern, a law student at the time, volunteered his services to the defense attorneys and remained with the case until its resolution. Here he charges governmental abuse of the legal system, anti-Indian bias and vindictiveness by the FBI; he also provides examples of judicial and political courage. This riveting account of documented persecution, intensive legal research and vindication when the case was finally dismissed by the Federal District Court in Oregon is a major addition to human rights literature.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The author, now with the American Jewish Committee, was involved with the criminal case United States v. Loud Hawk , first as a student volunteer for the defense attorneys and later as lead counsel before the U.S. Supreme Court. Here he offers an account of the case, which arose from armed conflicts at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, in 1973. The case began in Portland, Oregon, in 1975 with the indictment of six members of the American Indian Movement and ended 13 years later without going to trial. The author relates government allegations and defendants' countercharges, describing the fear, official misconduct, bigotry, and paranoia surrounding the case--reminders that government/Indian conflicts continue. Stern's autobiographical subtheme sometimes undermines the book's focus. Recommended for Native American collections.
- Margaret W. Norton, Montay Coll. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806134399
• ISBN-13: 978-0806134390
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #585,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Read, October 12, 2000

By 

"[e-mail]" (Kent, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Loud Hawk: The United States Versus the American Indian Movement (Hardcover)

I followed up 'Like a Hurricane' with this book. It reads quite easily, like a novel. It speaks of a case against several AIM members in Oregon. The author, Kenneth Stern, became involved in the case as a law student and thirteen years later was a bar certified attorney for one of the defendents. The book is clear on the events that took place and includes interesting discussions of people of and events surrounding the case, including Marlon Brando's role in AIM. One of the most interesting parts in near the end of the book where Stern describes the problems of Pine Ridge. He paints a wonderful, if awful, picture.

The only problem I had with the book was the use of dialogue. I will admit, that is part of what hooked me, but I was also leary of dialogue from more than a decade earlier. Overall, I felt it was a very good book.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Psycho White Man Government, August 4, 2005

By 

kondor,kondor (Ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Loud Hawk: The United States Versus the American Indian Movement (Hardcover)

Amazing that the Native Americans living today and in the past are called the trouble makers. Each war that broke out or incident that has taken place between the U.S. Government and Native Americans has been started because the white man and his greed just can't ever seem to be satisfied with his lust for money, control, or land from the Native American people. Then when Native Americans stand up for themselves after trying to please the devil whites they are labeled red savages! This book is an eye opener and written in a way that keeps your attention. This is one of the most factual books ever written with a color of truth that can't be denied.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars United States v. Loud Hawk, November 2, 2005

By 

Jason A. Heppler (NE, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Loud Hawk: The United States Versus the American Indian Movement (Paperback)

Kenneth Stern has produced this very readable firsthand account of the criminal case United States v. Kenneth Loud Hawk.

The book begins after the occupation of Wounded Knee. In November of 1975, outside of Ontario, Oregon, a state trooper, reacting from an all-points-bulletin from the FBI, pulls over a motor home and station wagon. Anna Mae Aquash, KaMook Banks, Kenneth Loud Hawk, and Russ Redner are arrested while two others, Dennis Banks and Leonard Peltier, dramatically escape from the scene. Eventually all six face charges of illegal weapons and possession of dynamite.

Kenneth Stern is an idealistic first-year law student fed up with insipid law classes. He learns of the arrest and volunteers to help the defense. He takes us through the thirteen-year-long case with great detail, starting in 1976 until Dennis Banks's plea bargain in 1988. A major focus is on the federal government's unethical behavior in their effort to try the Indian defendents. Such behavior includes destroying, manufacturing, and hiding evidence; spying on lawyer's meetings; intimidating supporters, and prejudicing potential jurors. Stern illustrates the lawyer-client relations and has an admirable devotion to his clients. His clients become friends to him, and he spends exhausive hours working on their cases. His skill at elucidating complex judicial processes make it easy to follow events as they unfold. In spite of his strong support of AIM, he preserves enough objectivity to recognize the imperfections of his clients and avoids any shrill anti-government rhetoric.

Unfortunately, the book hints at a romantic, self-serving autobiography. Since Stern was their legal advocate, he tends to focus on his clients' good side rather than criticize their actions. In certain accounts of historical events, such as Wounded Knee in 1890, he uses only one source (in this case, Dee Brown's none-too-carefully written BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE). Like Peter Matthiessen's IN THE SPIRIT OF CRAZY HORSE, Stern seems to take everything said by the Indians as fact, such as the events that occured at the occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973.

The book would perhaps suplement Peter Matthiessen's IN THE SPIRIT OF CRAZY HORSE or Paul Chaat Smith & Robert Allen Warrior's LIKE A HURRICANE. Overall, the book is worth the read for anybody interested in a one-sided account of the events that followed the Wounded Knee occupation.