Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West

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First published in 1970, this extraordinary book changed the way Americans think about the original inhabitants of their country. Beginning with the Long Walk of the Navajos in 1860 and ending 30 years later with the massacre of Sioux men, women, and children at Wounded Knee in South Dakota, it tells how the American Indians lost their land and lives to a dynamically expanding white society. During these three decades, America's population doubled from 31 million to 62 million. Again and again, promises made to the Indians fell victim to the ruthlessness and greed of settlers pushing westward to make new lives. The Indians were herded off their ancestral lands into ever-shrinking reservations, and were starved and killed if they resisted. It is a truism that "history is written by the victors"; for the first time, this book described the opening of the West from the Indians' viewpoint. Accustomed to stereotypes of Indians as red savages, white Americans were shocked to read the reasoned eloquence of Indian leaders and learn of the bravery with which they and their peoples endured suffering. With meticulous research and in measured language overlaying brutal narrative, Dee Brown focused attention on a national disgrace. Still controversial but with many of its premises now accepted, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee has sold 5 million copies around the world. Thirty years after it first broke onto the national conscience, it has lost none of its importance or emotional impact. --John Stevenson

Book Description

Now a special 30th-anniversary edition in both hardcover and paperback, the classic bestselling history The New York Times called "Original, remarkable, and finally heartbreaking....Impossible to put down"Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is Dee Brown's eloquent, fully documented account of the systematic destruction of the American Indian during the second half of the nineteenth century. A national bestseller in hardcover for more than a year after its initial publication, it has sold almost four million copies and has been translated into seventeen languages. For this elegant thirtieth-anniversary edition -- published in both hardcover and paperback -- Brown has contributed an incisive new preface.Using council records, autobiographies, and firsthand descriptions, Brown allows the great chiefs and warriors of the Dakota, Ute, Sioux, Cheyenne, and other tribes to tell us in their own words of the battles, massacres, and broken treaties that finally left them demoralized and defeated. A unique and disturbing narrative told with force and clarity, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee changed forever our vision of how the West was really won.

Customer Reviews:

BURY MY HEART ! (the truth of how our government "won" the west).......2007-10-10

I first read Dee Brown's book, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (1970) as a college assignment. It changed the way I looked at America/our country, America/our history, and America/our land. The book is subtitled "An Indian History Of The American West", and focuses on the period of 1860 to 1890. This was after "The Trail Of Tears" of the 1830s, when the Cherokee, Choctaw, and other Indian nations were forced against their will to evacuate the eastern United States and move west. The book covers the Apaches, the Navajo, the Cheyenne, the Nez Percez, and the Sioux, among others. The wars, the injustices, and the sad fate of men, women, and children who died trying to pack up and move their lives yet once again. Brown doesn't portray the Indians as saints, either, but only as people with limited resources who, too many times, trusted the promises of a government that would, time and time again, go back on it's word, and forcibly humiliate them. Brown also points out that sometimes the Indians overreacted by attacking innocent non-military settlements. Mostly the book is a concise account of the real Manifest Destiny story, and it expels the myths of the old American History 101 textbook, and the romantic Hollywood cowboy/injun-fighter version of our history. It's a tragic and cruel story, really. It's the true story of the progress of one generation of people at the expense of a civilization. Unfortunately that progress was paved with broken promises, injustice, and lives forever lost.

A Wake-up Call for Americans .......2007-09-05

I just (July 2007) acquired my new copy coming from Amazon. I lost my old copy in 1995. I was not naive about politics and government in 1995. Any scintillas of trust in politics and government,are now gone for even more different reasons. This book seems to keep me awake and keeps my ears wider open to what can happen in this country and this world. It is not just about the shameful and bloody acts in our westward expansion. The word "treaty" from these times is a joke. I can also see more about international expansions. America makes large wrongs, as do other countries do to their own people in history. My heart feels buried because Americans, we, made such innumerable, horrendous and cruel acts. This book remains to me as a great "jolt" to my consciousness. He put together a great example of what America did do to the Native American Peoples. Look at the status of the Native American Peoples who are left today.

Original Eye-Opener.......2007-08-03

This book was and contines to be a wake-up call to the asleep teaching of American History. Especially that of Native Americans and most notably our utter ignorance of our history with Latin America.

A great book.......2007-07-01

Bury my heart at wounded knee is a oustanding account of native american history. Very informative and captivating, piquing my interest in native american's. The words tell of a people heroic,caring,hospitable, and understanding almost pushed to the point of annihilation at the hands of conquistadors,whites and others. Sadness,anger,hate, and sympathy are just some of the feelings brought out by reading this book. If you want an unflinching account of native american history this a great place to start.

bury my heart at wounded knee.......2007-06-27

I was told to read this book as i like to read about american history. this is one of the best book i have read. dee brown really did a lot of backgroud work on it .

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THE BEST!
Imaginative book for nature lovers
Restoring the circle....
adventure story for children who love nature
the earth is my mother

The Earth Is My Mother
Bev Doolittle , and Elise Maclay
Manufacturer: The Greenwich Workshop Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: B000MTEWHG

Book Description

An illustrated story about the relationship between a mother, a daughter, and the Earth.

Customer Reviews:

THE BEST!.......2007-07-03

When I first looked at this book, I rolled my eyes. The Earth is My Mother? But when I opened the book, and I began to read, something made me want to cry, and make a difference. I understand Sarah's love for nature, and the inspiring tale of her makes me want to stand up and save the world. The way all her snapshots oddly made one picture of a mother, HER mother, OUR Mother, it just made me so happy. This book looked so..well..stupid, and right now, I can hardly believe my previous thoughts about it. I practically hugged this book. The next day, when I almost littered, I stopped myself, because I remembered this book. A life changing tale about a girl who makes a difference...all for her dead mother, and though she didn't know it, for herself...to protect Magic Canyon.

Another "earth" book I love for the illustrations is:
Dear Children of the Earth.
I also love a novel about how hope can work miracles, that is an all-time FAVORITE of mine:
The Secret Garden

Imaginative book for nature lovers.......2005-01-08

If you and your children love nature and the outdoors, give yourself a treat and read this book together. I read this with my 10 year olds, and all three of us loved it. There is enough adventure to spark a child's imagination, and the tale provides opportunities for teaching one's children about important conservation issues. The artwork is wonderful, and we had the poster which is included with the book matted and framed. My girls love to look at the poster, and discuss again the details of the story that are depicted in this wonderful artwork by Bev Doolittle. This is a book that your children will remember and return to again and again.

Restoring the circle...........2001-09-30

THE EARTH IS MY MOTHER is the tale of a girl named "Star" -- a spunky 11-year and a true heroine. EMM has been beautifully illustrated by Bev Doolittle--known for her "camouflage" Native American and wildlife artwork. Since millions of dollars from the proceeds of Ms. Doolittle's works have gone to support the National Wildlife Federation, you can imagine the major theme of this book is the preservation of the wilderness. The storyline is based on Ms. Doolittle's concept but the text was actually written by Elise Maclay, author of two books of poetry, "Approaching Autumn" and "Green Winter." EMM is a feast for the ear and the eye.

I cannot praise this book enough as it reflects all my core beliefs--that girls can be strong, brave, and caring individuals, that traditional cultures have much to teach us, that we are all part of the great circle of life, and that we are made from stardust and the earth is our mother.

As a childhood fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder's stories, Thorton Burgess' "Old Mother West Wind" tales, and fan of American Indian traditions and lore as well as a lover of the great outdoors, I was pleased to discover a book I could hand to my granddaughters with these words, "You want to know what life is about? read this book."

adventure story for children who love nature.......2000-06-18

This is a beautifully written adventure story set in the Southwest which my son and daughter, ages 10 and 11, both loved. It made a terrific family 'read aloud' for all of us. Like most kids today, they are conservationists and lovers of nature and Native American lore. The author artfully sets forth an important environmental issue, destruction of habitat, in an adventure-story format. The 11 year old heroine, Sarah, is brave and delightful, wrestling not only with saving the earth but family difficulties my kids empathized with. The illustrations by Bev Doolittle -- 'camoflague' art the kids loved to piece together -- are gorgeous. We loved it! I'm ordering a few copies for friends -- it's a great summer read for kids.

the earth is my mother.......2000-05-19

When an eleven years old girl, wise beyond her years, deeply feels for the earth and its endless bounty of beauty and truth embarks on a journey that encompasses the circle of life. Her "vision quest" begins to save a magical canyon. Capturing justice with her camera she finds that in her photography along with the assistance of the media, they are able to give back to Mother Earth and its preservation of truth, beauty and the pursuit of happiness. It is recommended for young adults, however, the spirit of this book can touch anyone and it's art is too real!

The Journal of Jesse Smoke : A Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838 (My Name Is America)

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The Journal of Jesse Smoke : A Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838 (My Name Is America)
the journal of jesse smoke
The Journal of Jesse Smoke: A Cherokee Boy
Jesse Smoke was a real boy.
The Journal of Jesse Smoke

The Journal of Jesse Smoke : A Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838 (My Name Is America)
Joseph Bruchac
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0439121973

Book Description

The Cherokees call The Trail of Tears Nunda¹utsun¹yi, or ³The Place Where the People Cried.² In Joseph Bruchac¹s Scholastic debut, Jesse Smoke, his mother, and his sisters are forced to abandon their home, their land, and their possessions when they and several thousand other Cherokees are forced west on The Trail of Tears.

Customer Reviews:

The Journal of Jesse Smoke : A Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838 (My Name Is America).......2007-03-22

The book was a book of triumph and struggle. It tells the sad story of native americans and how they were frced of of there land because of the white man( power to the people . it is a great book and i highly recomend it..

the journal of jesse smoke.......2007-01-11

The book was very good because it combines action and adventure and sadness the book was so good i read it two times and i always liked it so i read other books by the auther but i liked it best of all.

The Journal of Jesse Smoke: A Cherokee Boy.......2007-01-09

I read The Journal of Jesse Smoke. The author of Jesse Smoke, the owner of the journal. The book is historical fiction. It is about about a boy named jesse Smoke. He is apart of a Cherokee tribe. Jesse Smoke is Cherokee and has 2 sisters and a mother. His father had died and he does the work around the house. He owns this journal and wrights in it, it mainly takes place in camp Cherokee when he is captured and brought there. Many die there, he makes friends with a soldier named Will who gives information in camp. They get to leave when they pay for a pass to leave Camp Cherokee. I liked this book alot. I recommend it to people who like history. It is also recommend for people who like Indians or Cherokees. It is also for ages 12-adult. This book is good for people who like to read peoples journals.

Jesse Smoke was a real boy. .......2006-01-16

Through the eyes of a young man, we were able to see the tragedy that the Andrew Jackson administration orchestrated in behalf of the Cherokee nation as well as many other Southeastern Indian tribes. We were able to feel the hurt and know the injustice of a peaceful people uprooted and driven, in the dead of winter, to a reservation in what is now Oklahoma. We were able to feel the hopes and dreams of a boy and a people shattered by greed, politics and military might. This is a classic which should be in every school library in the country. Yes, I have that drop of blood in my veins that makes me a bona fide Cherokee. I am proud that the legend of a proud, industrious, creative people still remains in our hearts.

The Journal of Jesse Smoke.......2002-11-21

The Journal of Jesse Smoke
If you like historical fiction then I think you should read The Journal of Jesse Smoke because it was very exciting. It was exciting when the soldiers came to take all the Indians away. I thought that was interesting because then a white man tried to steal a house when a soldier beat him up. Then they went to the fort. Many died. They called it the Trail of Tears.
The Journal of Jesse Smoke is about how the Cherokee and the Creek Indians have to live in forts. They think it is very unpleasant. Then a lot of Indians die. Most of them are very weak or and ill.
The soldiers wanted the Indian's land so they came and kicked them out. Some of the Indians refused to go so then the soldiers killed them. I thought that was very mean and sad.

Book Description

When it was first published in 1928, Luther Standing Bear's autobiographical account of his tribe and tribesmen was hailed by Van Wyck Brooks as “one of the most engaging and veracious we have ever had.” It remains a landmark in Indian literature, among the first books about Indians written from the Indian point of view by an Indian.

Born in the 1860s, the son of a Lakota chief, Standing Bear was in the first class at Carlisle Indian School, witnessed the Ghost Dance uprising from the Pine Ridge Reservation, toured Europe with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, and devoted his later years to the Indian rights movement of the 1920s and 1930s.

Customer Reviews:

Indian Freedom Into White Man's Utilitarianism.......2004-08-09

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I found this book being both an honest account and a more accurate description of the Indian-American experience, as it comes from a man who was both Indian and personally lived through the trials and hardships through the Sioux tribe.

What is so interesting about the story is the naïve attribute of Luther Standing Bear and his honest, open and yet hold fast integrity. His trusting nature was so evident through out the story and yet he did not lack any intelligence and understanding. Of course those Indians with such nature were taken advantage of, and yet Luther Standing Bear remains always optimistic. There were many hardships, as in the loss of his free world and native life to a utilitarian white man's world of hustle and capitalism.

First there was much land taken and much sold with fraudulent treaties with government subsidiaries supplied, but it was the White's destruction of natural resources, the loss of the Buffalo and available food that caused the Indian's independence to wain and turn to the White man's society. This in turn set them up for what came next:

"Then like a thunderbolt from a clear sky came on order from the Interior Department that all rations and annuity goods which had been issued to all able-bodied Indians were to be cut off unless the Indians were willing to work for them."

This both took many Indians away from their homes to labor and in Luther Standing Bear's case, three jobs he took to support himself. The John Stuart Mill version of democracy, it's utilitarian enforcement of productivity is now forced on the Indian culture, a people whose land and free paced life was removed from them.

Luther relates how many whites took advantage of the non-English speaking Indians signing fraudulent land selling agreements, including a few unscrupulous Indians as Spotted Tail, who did the selling. There was also mentioned his experience of observing those Indians who were promised to be brought to Washington to speak to the government, but were being unknowingly used as city stop side shows, with tickets sales to the white men's advantage.

There were also the innocent killing of many Indians, the force of White man's culture, including the clothes, the cutting of hair, the religious teachings, the restriction against using his native tongue, and yet in Luther Standing Bear considered it bravery and wisdom to adopt the white man's ways and learn as much as he can to prove to the world that the Indians were both capable and good at living and producing just as the white men. His attendance at the Carlyle School, his relations and actions towards those in charge were so admirable.

The was also the death of two of his children, the event of a terrible train crash, events that would leave a horrendous impact on any person, and this man, Luther Standing Bear, maintains a strength of internal character that is most impeccable of a high and honorable nature. Not many persons would have remained so, and there is no complaining from him here, no venting, only stating his objective observances of both positive and negative occurrences and his subjective opinions written in such fair assessments.

Luther also relates how his people missed a few chances to better their predicament with the government as in Buffalo Bill's attempt to speak to the president in behalf of them and another occurrence where an agent influenced many to protect his own monetary interests.

Between Luther and his father, they understood the white man's invasion of the Indian world was "thick" and it was in wisdom to adopt their ways in order to survive. The major drawback from all this was the adoption also meant assimilation, as the dress, the religion and the language of the Indian was discouraged by the white man to be beneath his culture as inferior.

And yet all of the above was not meant as partisan to negativity, but rather, Luther was always optimistic, anxious to please his instructors and employers, admirable in is his constant desire to please the people he worked with, Captain Pratt in the Carlyle School, his employer at the Department Store, Buffalo Bill and many others. And for this he was very well liked, including by myself.

Grandmother's Grandchild: My Crow Indian Life (American Indian Lives)

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Culture, History, and Faith
The old and the new
Mine
Understanding Indian Culture and Traditions
So good I had to read it twice!

Grandmother's Grandchild: My Crow Indian Life (American Indian Lives)
Alma Hogan Snell
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0803292910

Customer Reviews:

Culture, History, and Faith.......2004-01-04

I have been blessed not only to read this book but to have met the author. She is both fascinating in person and in printed word, and her story is enlightening, educational, and entertaining. If you have any interest in Native American history, you'll be glad you read this book.

The old and the new.......2002-07-24

I truly enjoyed this book. It was written in plain language and seemed very personable to me. It is a true story about Alma's life growing up on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana and how she was deeply influenced by her grandmother Pretty Shield who taught Alma the old ways...she was a grandmother's grandchild. Pretty Shield was pretty smart I think. She had an appreciation for the natural world not seen too much anymore in our modern lives. I found these "old ways" interesting. This has influenced Alma for sure and she is able to reconcile this as well as the hardships of life with her deep Christian beliefs. God Bless you too Alma!

Mine.......2002-06-01

I truly enjoyed reading the book and learning of my Aunt Alma's point of view. I have grown up hearing of Pretty Shield and truly am blessed with having an aunt that shares her story and pictures.

Understanding Indian Culture and Traditions.......2001-04-16

A wonderful book! While much of the poverty and oppression of Indian people is painful to read, one can see the wonderful connections between families in Ms. Snell's book. The love and care for Indian children by extended families is probably one of the greatest reasons the Indian people and traditions have survived. We in the "dominate culture" could learn much to change the disintigration of American families by learning more about Native American people.

So good I had to read it twice!.......2000-03-24

Grandmother's Grandchild,Alma Snell, shares memories of one of the first recorded Female Indian Elders..Pretty Shield. Pretty Shield was written about in the 1930's when women were too often overlooked. Pretty Shield saw the buffalo leave and the reservations begin. Alma shares the experience of making the transition to Reservation life with Pretty Shield by her side. This book is a refreshing and deeply personal life story that manages to state facts without undertones of judgement. BEAUTIFUL! READ IT!

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A lyrical tale of a native childhood by a great healer
What was it like in the 1920s ?

Keewaydinoquay, Stories from My Youth
Keewaydinoquay Peschel
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press/Regional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0472069209

Customer Reviews:

A lyrical tale of a native childhood by a great healer.......2007-04-26

Keewaydinoquay, the Anishinaabeg medicine woman and ethnobotanist who recently died was a great inspiration to herbalists, Native and non-native alike. I had the good fortune to attend a workshop with her before she died and her stories have become an important part of my repertoire. This book, partially written by her and partially reconstructed from notes and recordings compiled by her apprentices is a lyrical tale of growing up between worlds. When the great depression hit her family lost money and was forced back to the woods, but for her it was a paradise with wild otters and wild places where she could find specimens to sell to the University for extra money. She tells of her apprenticeship to the venerable medicine woman Nodjimahkwe and the teachings that meant so much to her. I highly recommend it.

What was it like in the 1920s ?.......2006-03-27

So much of what is published about living "native" in the 20th century focuses on events West of the Mississippi. This collection of Michigan stories explains the relationship of people to the natural environment from the point of view of a girl who was raised in a traditional way, to know balance and living the good life.

Wonderful blending of events, healing and what has become to be called supernatural.

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A valuable insight into Lakota lifeways.

My Indian Boyhood, New Edition
Luther Standing Bear
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0803293348

Book Description

Although the traditional Sioux nation was in its last days when Luther Standing Bear was born in the 1860s, he was raised in the ancestral manner to be a successful hunter and warrior and a respectful and productive member of Sioux society. Known as Plenty Kill, young Standing Bear belonged to the Western Sioux tribe that inhabited present-day North and South Dakota. In My Indian Boyhood he describes the home life and education of Indian children. Like other boys, he played with toy bows and arrows in the tipi before learning to make and use them and became schooled in the ways of animals and in the properties of plants and herbs. His life would be very different from that of his ancestors, but he was not denied the excitement of killing his first buffalo before leaving to attend the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania.

Customer Reviews:

A valuable insight into Lakota lifeways........2004-04-11

Being written for young people, Standing Bear's account of his Lakota childhood is necessarily sanitized and romanticized. Its focus is on the domestic life of his people. Mention is often made of the courage of the warriors but there is no description of any military action. An incident is related of an enemy warrior stumbling into the village. We are told that he was well treated and quickly released. It is hard to believe that that was typical treatment of an enemy. Similarly, the more adult themes of courtship and sexuality are largely ignored. What we are left with is a treasure trove of homely detail: how cooking was accomplished in the absence of metal pots, how the boys caught turtles in the creek, what games they played. This is the very warp and weft of everyday life that gets left out of the broad-sweep histories that concentrate on great battles and famous lives.

Book Description

An artist's look at how the West was won by some -- and lost by others.

This unique album introduces readers to African Americans and Native Americans who had a role in the westward expansion of the United States, as fur traders, stagecoach drivers, cowboys, soldiers, nurses, mail-order brides, and tribal chiefs. Through Morgan Monceaux's striking portraits (executed in oil pastels, paint, markers, and collage) and the accompanying biographical sketches and historical notes, readers meet some of the men and women -- black and red -- whose names have come down to us through legend and history. Some are well known; others were minor players on a great stage whose lives can be traced through a photograph, a letter, or a government record. Taken together, they give us an extraordinary picture of the West and an appreciation of the human need to be free -- for as African American settlers were enjoying newfound freedom, their Native American neighbors were fighting to preserve theirs.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful!.......2000-02-18

What a beautiful book covering history in a new light. It is good to see in print heros who have seldom gained recognition in children's literaure. The illustrations are beautiful. A must for your child's growing library!

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