Customer Reviews

The Politics of Hallowed Ground: Wounded Knee and the Struggle for Indian Sovereignty

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What first strikes this reader is the very frank and engrossing personal narrative, as well as the description of the on-going political struggle of the Sioux in their battle for the return of the Black Hills in South Dakota. The diary entries of lawyer Mario Gonzales and the commentaries of Elizabeth Cook-Lynn gave me an opportunity to re-think important events in Sioux and American history over the past century (including Custer and the Little Big Horn, the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, and others). The authors also show very clearly how these linked histories continue to influence the actions of individuals (white or Indian) and governments today. Cook-Lynn is especially deft at evaluating the political, economic,and racial motivations of the various stakeholders, from the factions within different Sioux tribes, the governors and congressmen, federal agencies, to the white landowners. The centerpiece of the book is the fight by the Sioux for the return of the Black Hills (preserved for the tribes by treaty in 1868), as well as the related fight for a monument to the Sioux massacred by government troups at Wounded Knee. But as the story unfolds, it became a means for me to understand the treaty rights and sovereign rights of not just the Sioux but other Indian nations in this country. Gonzales relates details of the legal battles and community struggles, and shows an amazing persistence and courage in his pursuit of justice for the Sioux. I hope that other readers come away from this book with as strong a sense as I did: of our need to resolve these ethical and legal dilemmas by recognition of Indian treaty rights and sovereignty. I'm grateful to the authors for their frank discussions of the real difficulties inherent in this task, and for outlining the rewards to all of us if they succeed.

Recognition of wrongful death more than just an ache in heart

The mission of Native journalists throughout the nation has been to empower our people by telling our stories and retelling our histories from our perspective. That is why it was with a great deal of pleasure and pride, as well as a heart filled with hope, that I closed the cover on the recently released, "The Politics of Hallowed Ground," written by Santee/Yankton Dakota Elizabeth Cook-Lynn and Oglala Lakota attorney Mario Gonzalez. The story's power is in its stark truth. Many truths, historical and contemporary, are revealed. They lay bare a history that, although it is hurtful, also paves the way to empower tribal people to fight for the future. Cook-Lynn, professor emerita of English of Eastern Washington University, is herself a renowned poet, essayist, fiction writer and founding editor of the Wicazo Sa Review, and Gonzalez, the attorney general of the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, join forces as a forceful team tol address many historical and contemporary issues facing our Sioux nations. Daily diaries kept by Gonzalez provide a backdrop for this tale of historical, social, legal and political injustices the people have suffered. Gonzalez was the lead attorney who initiated a civil action in U.S. District Court on July 18, 1980, that enjoined and prevented the federal government from "paying" out the June 30, 1980, Supreme Court award to the Oglala Sioux Tribe for the theft of the Black Hills. Payment would have extinguished Lakota/Dakota title to the Black Hills. He also drafted the proposed Bradley and Martinez bills that would have established a framework for the Lakota/Dakota tribes to get Congress to provide a solution for the Black Hills land claim. This book also is about the Wounded Knee Survivors Association, represented by Gonzalez, and its struggle to get the federal government to apologize for atrocities at Wounded Knee when Big Foot and his band were massacred by the 7th Cavalry and to establish a memorial at the massacre site. The story is told from the Lakota/Dakota perspective, that the massacre took place in retaliation for Custer's defeat at the Little Big Horn Battle little more than a decade earlier. . An old adage holds that the pen is mightier than the sword. In this case Cook-Lynn, who narrates the story, carries a mighty big club. She hammers on the colonized mindset of some of our people, the historical, racist ideology and current racist political undercurrents that impede progress of our people. Cook-Lynn not only lays bare the many injustices the people suffered at the hands of the white man and at the hands of fellow tribal members. They retell Lakota-Dakota history from the Native perspective. To quote Gonzalez: "I don't know why non-Indians believe the Lakota are a conquered people. It is just being fought on another battlefield. We now battle the U.S. government in the courtrooms, the halls of Congress and at the United Nations. "The Lakota people won every major military engagement with the United States in the 1860s and signed a peace treaty with the United States in 1868. Although the U.S. Army violated that treaty by attacking Lakota people exercising their article 11 and 16 hunting rights at the Little Bighorn River in Montana on June 25, 1876, the Lakota defeated Lt. Col. George Amrstrong Custer's Seventh Cavalry at that battle and we have been residing in peace on their reservations as they agreed to do in 1868. " Lilililililili! Too put it succinctly, as only Cook-Lynn could do, "Gonzalez believes that the conquest of the Lakota people is a state of mind; that the Lakota people will become a conquered people only when they start believing they are conquered and start acting like they are conquered." Powerful words, but this book is about empowerment. It is not only a "must read" to truly understand Sioux history from the Lakota-Dakota point of view, but it is a must for academics in the history and political fields. The appendixes provided by Gonzalez and Cook-Lynn include much-needed research material easily accessed. They include significant dates, historical accounts, congressional testimony, a chronology of events leading up to the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, the Wounded Knee death list, a list of claims paid under the Sioux Depredations Act, a Chronology of Historical/Legal Events on the Black Hills Sioux Land Claim as well as the bill introduced to establish a Wounded Knee National Tribal Park. There is so much information in this book, a mere review would not do it justice. Instead, I encourage all "thinking" people to buy this book and read it. I guarantee you will come away enlightened and prone to ponder for days, truths that will be revealed. In closing, a parting shot from Cook-Lynn: "`The Politics of Hallowed Ground' is a modern accounting of the efforts of ordinary people to make sense of colonial politics in our time and it follows a paper trail as clear and unmistakable as the trail of blood left in the hills of the Pine Ridge Reservation after the killing a century ago. "The expectation of the current effort narrated here is that crimes against humanity can be acknowledged by their perpetrators, that official apologies can ensue, that stolen lands and rights can be returned to tribal peoples, that colonization and enforced assimilation can be identified as among the historical crimes against humanity and that the recognition of wrongful death can be more than just an ache in the heart."

Editor's note: "The Politics of Hallowed Ground" is published by the University of Illinois Press. Call (217) 244-4689 for more information.

Wonderful workings of writing the whole truth. A must have, must read, must distribute widely!

This book is about the relationship between the United States and the Sioux Nation from the signing of the 1851 Ft. Laramie treaty up to the present. The book centers around the efforts of the Wounded Knee Survivors Assoc. and their attorney Mario Gonzalez to obtain a formal apology from the U.S. government for the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre and the establishment of a National Tribal park at the massacre site. This book includes:

*Gonzalez' diary entries from 1989-1992--an excellent window to see firsthand how contemporary tribal governments work and how Native Americans on reservations interact with each other on a daily basis.

*Commentary (called chronicles)by Elizabeth Cooke-Lynn explaining events described in the diary entries including Gonzalez' efforts in stopping the payment of $100 million claims commission for the Black Hills in 1980, and his efforst in Europe from 1981 to 1984 to get the World Court to issue an advisory opinion on the illegal confiscation of the Black Hills.

*Appendices that include a complete chronology of Sioux land claims from the signing of the 1851 treaty up to the present--a must for anyone interested in Indian land claims.

*Excellent footnotes with valuable information found no where else including information about Chief Crazy Horse's family members contained in the probate records of Chief Crazy Horse's father.

This book is FASCINATING and should appeal to everyone! IT SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING IN EVERY NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES CLASS!

The scholarship that went into this book is simply outstanding. Most Americans are vaguely aware that the U.S. Government signed many treaties with Native peoples and that the U.S. Government violated many of these treaties, however, very few are aware of the content of these treaties and how, specifically they were violated by acts of the Congress and even the acts of military personnel and private individuals. This book does a wonderfull job telling the story of the Lakota people's experiences with the U.S. government and how their lives and culture were hurt by malintended behavior of the U.S. government. The book also explains the historical consequences of the ill treatment of Native people as it affected their ability to govern themselves and improve their condition. The seeds for the intratribal conflicts, political corruption and counterproductive behavior of some Native peoples were sewn by their treatment over time by the U.S. government and the racism that was fostered by official government policies. This book is also about courage, integrity and extraordinary perseverance exemplified by the many selfless acts of Mario Gonzalez on behalf of his people in the face of extraordinary odds as he fought over more than 10 years using mostly his own assets, to get an official apology from the U.S. government for the Wounded Knee Massacre and establish a national monument and park at the Wounded Knee site. He is a man you would want as your attorney and your friend.

Sincerely

Dwight F. Davis, Ph.D. and high school classmate of Mario Gonzalez

Wonderful workings of writing the whole truth. A must have, must read, must distribute widely!

This study is of value to anybody interested in the relationship between indigenous people and the contemporary state in so-called "new world" countries. The struggle of attorney, Mario Gonzalez, to extract a formal apology from the U.S. government over the Wounded Knee Massacre and recognition of the validity of the Indian land claim to the Black Hills of South Dakota certainly stirred this reviewer's heart. Of particular interest are the passages where Gonzalez speaks in the first person, not only of his encounters ( and frustrations)with bureaucracy on a state and federal level, but of his experiences of the petty rivalries and jealousies among his own people and clients. Excellent footnotes and appendices. I appreciated having the text of relevant treaties and legislation included so I could check them out myself. My only caveat: the commentary is far too repetitive. I would like to have read more of Gonzalez's journal entries and less carping about 'injustice' - the Lakota case is so overwhelmingly persuasive that putting it simply and eloquently (as Gonzalez does) will win over the reader without trotting out the cant of political correctness.

This is the best book on contemporary Native American history that I have read. I recommend it to anyone interested in Native American History.

what elizabeth and mario have done is to create a work that will stand for the test of time! my favorite part of the whole book was when Elizabeth proudly states THAT NATIVE AMERICAN, ABORGIONAL, AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ARE NOT CITIZENS OF THE WHITE MAN'S NATION ! FOR EXAMPLE A PERSON WHO LIVES IN THE DINE NATION IS NOT A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE THEY NEVER ASKED FOR NOR DID WANT TO BE CITZENS OF THIS PATHETIC NATION! THEY ARE CITIZENS IN THEIR TRIBE AND NATION NOT OF THE PATHETIC UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR THE WORLD FOR THAT MATTER! READ THIS BOOK TO LEARN THE REAL HISTORY OF WOUNDED KNEE AND ABOUT A PEOPLE WHO ARE CHANGING HISTORY EVERY SINGLE DAY!